Southeast Asia & domestic cities top the charts, ET TravelWorld

The ongoing festive season has brought a significant surge in travel bookings, with both domestic and international travel witnessing remarkable growth. Data from major platforms, including ixigo, Cleartrip and redBus shows a noticeable spike in flight, hotel, and bus bookings, reflecting India’s increasing appetite for travel during Diwali 2024. Southeast Asian countries are at the forefront of international travel, while key Indian cities remain popular domestic destinations for travellers.

Southeast Asia leads the international travel surge
International travel bookings for the Diwali season have soared, with ixigo’s data indicating a staggering 144 per cent year-on-year (YoY) spike in flight bookings to Kuala Lumpur. Other top Southeast Asian destinations include Thailand (+105 per cent), Georgia (+94 per cent), Bali (+77 per cent), Vietnam (+48 per cent), and Singapore (+41 per cent). Destinations like Dubai (+19 per cent) and Male (+3 per cent) also showed notable increases in bookings.

Commenting on the trend, Aloke Bajpai, Group CEO of ixigo, remarked, “International travel has been in high demand over the past year, and we anticipate this trend to continue through the festive season. Thailand, Georgia, Bali, Vietnam, and Singapore are seeing a 70-80 per cent rise in bookings for October. Sri Lanka, which recently announced visa-free access for Indians, has also become a popular choice for festive getaways.”

Domestic travel on the rise: Flight & train bookings surge
On the domestic front, key metro cities such as New Delhi, Bengaluru, Mumbai, and Kolkata lead the list of top travel destinations this October. Other cities experiencing a rise in flight bookings include Hyderabad, Chennai, Goa, and Lucknow, pointing to a strong demand for domestic travel during Diwali.

According to ConfirmTkt, train bookings have also surged, with cities like Surat (+38 per cent), Patna (+36 per cent), Lucknow (+27 per cent), Kolkata (+25 per cent), and Jaipur (+24 per cent) seeing the highest year-on-year increase in travel bookings for October. This growth indicates a robust demand for both air and train travel for festive journeys within India.

Hotel bookings spike for Dussehra & Diwali
Hotel bookings have increased 1.4 times compared to last year, driven by major festive celebrations across the country. Kolkata, a hub for Dussehra celebrations, saw a 2.7 per cent spike in bookings, followed by Varanasi (+2.3 per cent), Bangalore (+2.2 per cent), Mumbai, and Jaipur (+1.8 per cent each). Approximately 77.5 per cent of hotel bookings are made within two weeks of check-in, reflecting a pattern of last-minute planning.

Domestic airfares witness a decline
Despite the overall spike in travel demand, there has been some relief in airfares for key domestic routes. A comparison of airfares between November 2023 and October 2024 reveals that prices have dropped on many routes. For instance, flights from Mumbai to New Delhi have seen a 34 per cent drop, while fares from Bengaluru to New Delhi are down by 22 per cent. Other routes such as New Delhi-Kolkata (-32 per cent), Bengaluru-Jaipur (-27 per cent), and Pune-New Delhi (-26 per cent) have also seen significant declines.

This trend has been attributed to increased flight capacity following the suspension of Go First airlines last year, as well as a 15 per cent drop in oil prices. Bajpai noted, “Last year, airfares around Diwali had surged due to limited capacity. However, this year we’ve seen a 20-25 per cent YoY dip in average airfares across key routes.”

Bus travel sees last-minute bookings surge in Karnataka
Bus travel, particularly in Karnataka, has seen a 30 per cent rise in seat bookings during Dussehra, as per data from redBus. A notable trend is the increase in last-minute bookings, with 45 per cent of customers booking tickets for same-day travel. Interstate routes, including Bangalore-Hyderabad, Bangalore-Chennai, and Bangalore-Goa, are among the most popular during the festive season.

With both international and domestic travel on the rise, and a variety of destinations seeing increased bookings, this festive season marks a strong revival in the travel industry. Whether flying abroad to popular Southeast Asian destinations or exploring local hotspots, Indian travellers are seizing the opportunity to celebrate Dussehra and Diwali with renewed enthusiasm.