For most Indian travellers in 2025, the deciding factor isn’t just beaches or luxury hotels, but whether a trip offers a slice of living culture. A new Cultural Tourism Report from Skyscanner says 82% of Indians are actively planning journeys around festivals, heritage sites, and authentic traditions.
Heritage Tourism Gets The Hype This Travel Season
The trend is sharpest among the young. Millennials (84%) and Gen Z (80%) are driving what researchers call a “culture-curious” wave! It calls for holidays that feel more like discovery quests than sightseeing formalities. For nearly 40% of travellers, the test of a successful trip is simple: Did they come back knowing something new about a community or place?
Festivals have become front and centre in travel calendars. Skyscanner data shows Durga Puja in Kolkata (53%), Lathmar Holi in Barsana (51%), and Onam in Kerala (35%) are the top cultural events Indians want to witness next year. The appetite goes beyond rituals: half of travellers say they’ve already attended fairs or festivals, while searches for Varanasi, a city synonymous with spiritual and cultural heritage, are up 76% for 2025.
Still, it’s not only about big-ticket events. Historical cities like Jaipur and UNESCO-protected sites such as Hampi or the Taj Mahal continue to pull visitors, while Kerala (32%) and Rajasthan (30%) are carving reputations as the country’s cultural capitals.
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Offbeat Travel Is The New Cool For GenZ
The most striking figure is that 93% of travellers say they’d rather go off the beaten path, i.e. to heritage villages, culinary trails, or eco-cultural hubs, if tourism means meeting people who carry traditions in their everyday lives.
That craving for “hidden gems” has given features like Skyscanner’s Explore Everywhere search a boost, as travellers actively filter for art, culture, and underrated destinations.
Romance aside, planning still comes down to practicalities. Safety tops the list of concerns (45%), followed by authenticity (33%) and seasonality (31%). Most people begin plotting their trips a couple of months before, turning to social media (45%), family and friends (39%), or apps like Skyscanner (27%) for inspiration. And money matters: six in ten believe the smartest trick is booking festival flights by scanning “whole month” fare calendars to spot cheaper days.
A Shift In Indian Tourism
Policy experts say this tilt towards culture could redefine heritage tourism economics. “We are moving from passive sightseeing to immersive storytelling,” notes Dr. Aditi Rawat of the Pahle India Foundation. “Travellers are seeking not just monuments but the narratives of people and traditions that animate them.”
Government initiatives like Dekho Apna Desh and Swadesh Darshan 2.0 are amplifying the heritage tourism trend, making small towns, tribal festivals, and local arts more accessible. For travellers, the reward is obvious: journeys that leave them with stories worth retelling. Or, as Skyscanner’s Neel Ghose put it, “Travel today is shifting from sights seen to connections deepened.”
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Cover Image Courtesy: rahulpandit/CanvaPro
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