Skift Take
The upcoming festive season is driving a surge in demand for travel across India. Airfares remain stable due to early bookings and special discounts, but there could be a spike as travel dates near.
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Amid reports of increasing demand for travel for the upcoming festive season, Skift reached out to travel services companies to understand the trends in festive season travel.
“In anticipation of the upcoming Eid-e-Milad extended weekend on September 15 and 16, we have observed an increase in searches across domestic and international destinations,” Santosh Kumar, Country Manager for India, Sri Lanka, Maldives and Indonesia at Booking.com, told Skift.
He added that according to Booking.com’s data, Popular hill stations such as Lonavala, Ooty and Kodaikanal are observing an uptick between 20-50% in searches as compared to the same period last year. Mussoorie in particular is experiencing a 120% year-on-year growth in searches. “Furthermore, Indian travelers are capitalizing on this extended break to explore spiritual destinations like Varanasi, Rishikesh, and Puri,” he added.
According to Booking.com accommodation search data, international destinations like London, Dubai, Singapore, Paris, and Baku remain top choices for Indian travelers seeking extended weekend getaways, he said.
Indiver Rastogi, President & Group Head, Global Business Travel, Thomas Cook (India) and SOTC Travel, said that the festive season for Dusshera holidays, between October 12 and 18, and Diwali, between October 30 and November 5, are already seeing significant demand. “Value-conscious Indians are booking 60-90 days in advance to avail lower pricing and special discounts announced by both airlines and hotels. Fares are currently lower than the peak summer pricing and this has given momentum to demand for the upcoming festive