Religious journey revives, however Goa stays favorite vacation spot

Religious locations skilled elevated demand, with search queries for practice journey to Varanasi rising 50% this yr and Tirupati experiencing a tripling in practice search queries for summer season journey, in keeping with Ixigo.

In addition, there was an increase in demand for bus journey to Tirupati, Shirdi, and Vaishno Devi, with the development anticipated to proceed into the winter season.

“Travel is again with a vengeance, boosted by robust pent-up demand, improved confidence ranges and the lifting of restrictions in an rising variety of locations. The business has bounced again phenomenally nicely. Travel sentiment is at an all-time excessive,” said Aloke Bajpai, group chief executive officer and co-founder of Ixigo.

Domestic air traffic has surpassed pre-covid levels, with over 410,000 daily passengers. Bus and train travel has also seen significant growth, data showed.

Goa, Udaipur, and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands have been the favourite domestic destinations this year, while Dubai, Bangkok, the Maldives and Vietnam remain popular choices for outbound leisure travel from India, according to online travel platforms Ixigo, Cleartrip and Kayak.

“If 2021 was the year of ‘Work from Anywhere’, 2022 can be termed as the ‘Bucket List’ year. Indians are showcasing a desire to experience new destinations and tick off destinations from their travel bucket lists that were on hold for a long time,” Bajpai added.

Ixigo’s bus journey web site, AbhiBus, noticed a doubling of searches for vacationer locations corresponding to Tirupati, Goa, and Manali from final yr. Demand for bus journey to leisure locations corresponding to Goa, Ooty, Manali, and Vizag recovered to pre-covid ranges by August.

“Truth be instructed, since 2020, a mean Indian traveller has undergone main but everlasting adjustments in her journey preferences. This yr, vacation planners have been seen selecting thematic packages centered on journey, heritage, wellness, religious, off-roading journeys, and so on., over plain-vanilla excursions,” said Vipul Prakash, chief operating officer at MakeMyTrip.

There was an increase in travellers to domestic destinations such as Shimla, Jaipur, and Kashmir this year. In the international segment, Vietnam, Bali, Turkey and London were also popular among Indians as they reopened their borders.

Kayak, which analyzed travel searches between 19 December and 6 January, found Dubai, Bangkok and Bali as popular destinations due to their short flights, while Goa and the Andaman and Nicobar islands are local favourites, indicating a preference for beach destinations.

In 2023, online travel operators expect continued demand for unique experiences, more short vacations, flexible travel plans, and a preference for spiritual, unexplored, and beach destinations.

Post-covid travellers are seeking more autonomy when planning their itineraries and want options to make travel more flexible and comfortable, Prakash said. MakeMyTrip reported an increase in demand for unexplored destinations such as Coonoor, Idukki, Karjat, Mahabaleshwar, Pelling, Namchi, Almora, Jibhi, and Mashobra. The book now pay later (BNPL) option has also gained popularity as a financing choice for travellers.

Ixigo expects travellers to continue seeking new and varied travel experiences in 2023, with an increase in work-related travel to domestic and international destinations.

“Covid-19 has put a strong emphasis on mental and physical health. This has trickled down to travel as well. In 2023, travellers will be keen on exploring wellness vacations for an experience that is restorative or rejuvenating. We saw spiritual travel pick up strongly in 2022, and the trend is set to dominate the next year as well,” Bajpai stated.