Travel Trends: Searches For Religious Destinations Grow By 97% In 2 Years, Ayodhya, Ujjain, Badrinath Top The List

Indian travellers are making a major impact on both domestic and international tourism, exploring far-off corners of the world and transforming the industry. MakeMyTrip, a leading travel booking platform, has released its first edition of the India Travel Trends Report, providing insights into Indian travellers’ behaviours and trends based on data from over 100 million annual active users. The report offers a glimpse into where, when, and how Indians are traveling, both within the country and abroad.

Domestic Travel Trends

Increasing Travel Frequency: The number of Indians taking more than three trips a year has grown by 25 per cent in 2023 compared to 2019.

Spiritual Journeys: Tier-2 and tier-3 cities are seeing a rise in spiritual travel, with searches for religious destinations growing by 97 per cent in the past two years. Destinations such as Ayodhya, Ujjain, and Badrinath have seen notable growth in searches.

Weekend Getaways: Short trips to destinations such as Jim Corbett, Ooty, and Munnar continue to be popular among Indian travellers.

International Travel Trends

Popular Destinations: Dubai, Bangkok, and Singapore remain top choices for international travel, while long-haul destinations such as London, Toronto, and New York are also highly searched.

Emerging Destinations: Searches for emerging destinations like Hong Kong, Almaty, Paro, Baku, Da Nang, and Tbilisi have surged in 2023.

Travel Preferences and Trends

Family and Solo Travel: Family travel bookings have increased by 64 per cent in 2023 compared to 2022, while solo travel bookings have grown by 23 per cent in the same period.

Flight Booking Habits: Half of domestic flights are booked between 9 am and 6 pm, and 46 per cent are booked less than a week before travel. In contrast, international bookings are typically made two weeks in advance.

Seating Preferences: Women tend to pre-book window seats, while men opt for aisle seats.

In-Flight Meals: The most popular in-flight meal on domestic flights is a tomato cucumber cheese lettuce sandwich.

Accommodation Trends

Booking Timing: Most domestic leisure hotel bookings are made less than a week before travel, while international hotel bookings are often made at least 30 days in advance.

Accommodation Types: Alternative accommodations have seen a 24 per cent growth in bookings, with preferences varying based on price and type.

Luxury Searches: About 20 per cent of family travellers search for properties with rates over INR 10,000 per night.

Payment and Gifting Trends

Payment Preferences: UPI is the most popular payment method, accounting for nearly 40 per cent of transactions, followed by credit cards for high-value transactions.

Travel Gifts: Wedding gift cards in denominations of Rs 5,000 and Rs 10,000 are popular choices, often given as wedding gifts.

Rajesh Magow, Co-founder and Group CEO of MakeMyTrip, said the importance of understanding Indian travellers’ evolving preferences to shape the future of tourism, both domestically and internationally. By recognising and catering to diverse traveller behaviours, the industry can enhance travel experiences and contribute to its growth and development. MakeMyTrip’s report provides valuable insights to guide policymakers and industry stakeholders in bridging demand and supply gaps and creating unique experiences tailored to travellers’ needs and aspirations.

City-specific insights: 

Delhi

• Rishikesh, Amritsar are some of the most searched destinations
• Travellers prefer flights between 12 PM and 6PM
• Travellers over-indexed on booking domestic flights less than a week ahead of travel date
• Travellers showcase higher intent for pre-booking meals while traveling International
• Northern states have a higher preference for Hostels
• Almost half of all domestic travellers book a room with breakfast and a major meal

Mumbai

• Goa, Pune, are some of the most searched destinations
• Travellers prefer flights between 12 PM and 6PM
• Travellers showcase higher intent for pre-booking meals while traveling International
• Maharashtra has the highest share of domestic hotel searches overall – highest preference for Villas
• More than half of domestic hotel bookers book room with breakfast; internationally they prefer room only

Kolkata 

• Digha, Mandarmani are some of the most searched destinations
• Travellers have a higher proclivity to book flights over 3 months in advance for both international and domestic
• Travellers have a higher preference for booking in-flight meals for domestic
• Eastern states have a higher preference for Hotels
• Approximately half of travellers prefer room only for domestic hotel bookings
• 60 per cent of international hotel bookers prefer room with breakfas

Chennai

• Madurai, Pondicherry are some of the most searched destinations
• Travellers prefer flights between 6PM to 12AM
• Travellers over indexed when it comes to booking international flights 30 days in advance
• Travellers most actively pre-select seats for domestic and international flights
• Travellers have a higher preference for booking in-flight meals for domestic
• Southern states have a higher preference for alternative accommodations
• Maximum preference for room only bookings for international hotels

Bengaluru

• Mysore, Coorg, Mangalore are some of the most searched destinations
• Travellers prefer flights between 12AM – 6AM
• Travellers most actively pre-select seats for international flights
• Travellers have a higher preference for booking in-flight meals for domestic
• Bengaluru has a higher preference for villas while traveling domestically

Hyderabad

• Vishakhapatnam, Tirupati are some of the most searched destinations
• Travellers prefer flights between 6AM and 3PM
• Travellers over-indexed on booking domestic flights in less than a week and international flights 30 days ahead of travel date
• Travellers most actively pre-select seats for domestic flights
• Southern states have a higher preference for alternative accommodations
• Approximately half of domestic travellers prefer room only

Source: MakeMyTrip