Prime Minister Narendra Modi's appeal to stop gold purchase and avoid foreign travel to help buffer India from global economic shocks has drawn a cautious response from jewellers and travel operators.
The seven-point advisory, which includes appeals to postpone foreign travel for at least a year, reduce gold purchases, cut fuel and edible oil consumption, encourage remote work, reduce dependence on chemical fertilisers, and avoid foreign goods, was framed as a collective national response to global uncertainty.
According to analysts, the Prime Minister's advisory on gold purchases is linked to concern over growing gold imports. Though the volume of imports dipped, in 2025-26 India imported gold worth $71.98 bn. The figure was $58 bn in 2024-25.
Spending by Indians who travel abroad is also a growing concern, Data by the Union ministry of Tourism shows 3.27 crore Indians travelled abroad in 2025. In 2023-24 Indians spent Rs 2.72 lakh crore on international travel.
Jewellers feel uncertain
For Bengaluru's jewellery traders, the advisory landed on already fragile ground. Gold sales have been declining for months, driven by a sustained surge in prices.
"From the past eight months, sales have completely dipped," said Mahesh, owner of Mahesh Jewellers in Shivajinagar. He added that those who genuinely wanted to buy gold would do so regardless of any advisory.
Venkateshwar, director of Om Shree Poojyaya Jewellers on Church Street, echoed this. "Generally, no one is buying new gold. Whatever people have, they are exchanging for new jewellery or using it as a base for creating something more," he said.
Vijay Raj, an employee at Sumer Jewel Palace in Shivajinagar, noted that customers had already been coming in to sell gold rather than buy it. "At least they should have given us a message six months in advance. After six months we'll stop gold, that is okay. Suddenly saying don't buy gold makes it very difficult for us," he said.
Travel industry wary of curbs
Modi's call to postpone foreign travel for at least a year, on the grounds that much can be experienced within India was also not received well.
Rekha, owner of Rekha Air Travels on Church Street, said she could not agree with the proposal to avoid foreign travel for a year. Mohan, director of Unifly Travels in Ashok Nagar, said war had become a near-constant global backdrop and has ceased to deter travellers. A year-long pause could push up travel and accommodation prices significantly by the time demand returned, he said.
This story was written by student interns working with TNM.
