If you love to travel and wish to know about the latest travel trends, then you have to check out MakeMyTrip’s India Travel Trends Report. This first edition of MakeMyTrip’s travel report talks about where, how, when, and with whom Indians prefer to travel. The report has revealed some amazing insights and top behaviours of Indian travellers. Read on to learn more about this report and what it reveals about the travel trends in the country.
MakeMyTrip’s Travel Trends Report Reveals Where India Travels
MakeMyTrip has released its India Travel Trends Report. The travel company has taken insights from travel searches by its 100M+ annual active users in 2023 and put together some of the top behaviours of Indian travellers in this report. The report shows a clear increase in holiday frequency, family-centric vacations, spiritual journeys, affordable luxury, and spontaneous holidays. As per the report, these are the major trends shaping travel in the country this year.
The report also answers the big question – where is India travelling? As per the report, tier-2 and tier-3 cities are embracing spiritual tourism. So much so, that searches for destinations with or around religious spots grew 97% in the last two years. Their numbers further revealed that searches for Ayodhya grew by 585%, Ujjain by 359% and Badrinath by 343% in 2023 as compared to 2022.
On the international front, 30% of all travel searches from India are for Dubai, Bangkok, and Singapore. Meanwhile, London, Toronto, and New York are the most searched long-haul destinations. Some of the emerging international destinations in 2023 included Hong Kong, Almaty, Paro, Baku, Da Nang, and Tbilisi.
Weekend getaways were also a major trend amongst Indians. MakeMyTrip recorded 131% growth in searches for Jim Corbett in 2023 as compared to 2022. Ooty and Munnar are other preferred destinations by Indians for weekend getaways. Not just weekend trips, Indians have significantly increased their holiday frequency. In fact, according to MakeMyTrip’s report, the number of people taking more than 3 trips per year has grown by 25% in 2023 as compared to 2019.
Also Read: Singapore Tourism Board & MakeMyTrip To Curate Unique Holiday Packages For Indians; Details
When, With Whom & How People Prefer To Travel?
MakeMyTrip’s India Travel Trends Report shows a surge in family trips in 2023. As per the data, family travel bookings saw a 64% hike in 2023 as compared to 2022. For solo travellers, they saw a booking growth of 23% for the same period. The report further reveals about accommodation and flight booking preferences, payment modes, and even how travel gifting is a new trend amongst Indians.
According to MMT, 50% of all domestic flyers pick flights between 9 AM and 6 PM – irrespective of destination or origin. 46% of domestic flights are booked less than a week before the travel date and only one-third of international bookings are made more than a month before the travel date. Also, Tomato Cucumber Cheese Lettuce Sandwich is the most ordered in-flight meal on domestic flights.
For accommodations, 56% of domestic leisure hotel bookings on the platform are made less than a week before the day of travel. For international travel, 33% of the bookings are made at least 30 days before the date of travel.
UPI has emerged as the most preferred payment method for booking travel. Almost 40% of all transactions for travel are now done by UPI, followed by use of credit cards. Also, instead of cash and other gift items, people are gifting travel gift cards at weddings.
What’s your take on these travel trends unveiled by MakeMyTrips’s travel report? Let us know in the comments!
Cover Image Courtesy: Canva
For more such snackable content, interesting discoveries and the latest updates on food, travel and experiences in your city, download the Curly Tales App. Download HERE.