Indian travellers looking for newer destinations, spiritual experiences

Team L&M

Independence Day is around the corner, and fortuitously, Indian travellers will get a long weekend to enjoy a much-needed getaway. Flight search data from the world’s leading travel search engine KAYAK, reveals the top trending destinations for this period, as well as noteworthy flight search trends compared to last year.

For travel over the Independence Day long weekend, the current average return economy flight domestically is ₹11,584, a 4 per cent decrease compared to last year, great news for Indian travellers. The average return international flight price is sitting at ₹77,431 on average an 11per cent increase compared to 2022.

Tarun Tahiliani, India Country Manager at KAYAK, said, “Our data reveals that Indian travellers are keen to immerse themselves in new experiences in destinations like Madurai, Varanasi, and Bhubaneswar. Many Indians are also looking at overseas sojourns to Colombo, Auckland, Jeddah, and Toronto. Some of the top trending destinations, both domestic and international, have seen a considerable drop in prices, further enticing Indian travellers. The Independence Day long weekend is going to be action-packed for Indian holidaymakers, and KAYAK is all set to help them with useful tips and tools to help all those hoping to travel for the holiday at a great price!”

Interestingly, domestic travellers could be opting for spiritually enriching journeys, as the list of top trending destinations features offbeat locales more than popular tourist destinations. Varanasi, a spiritual capital of India, has seen a substantial 102 per cent increase in flight searches despite a 7 per cent rise in flight prices as compared to 2022. The culturally significant, ancient city of Madurai has also witnessed a 97 per cent increase in flight searches even with a 22 per cent price increase compared to last year*.

Apart from these, the top domestic destinations that saw the largest increase in flight searches as compared to the previous year include Bhubaneswar (90per cent), Thiruvananthapuram (71per cent), and Kochi (51 per cent). Given these trends, it appears that Indians are using this long weekend to experience the country’s diverse and alluring cultural offerings.

Colombo and Auckland have captured the top 2 spots on the list of top trending destinations as per flight searches, with a remarkable upswing of 5 times and 4 times respectively, as compared to 2022,.  This increase in traveller searches may be attributed to a drop in average flight prices compared to last year: Colombo in Sri Lanka has seen a 10per cent decrease in average flight prices since 2022, while the average flight price for Auckland in New Zealand has decreased by 16 per cent in comparison to last year.

The most searched international destination for summer travel is Bangkok followed by Toronto, Bali, and Dubai. Further, Goa was the most searched domestic destination, followed by New Delhi, Andaman and Nicobar Islands and Kochi.

For Indians eager to travel over Independence Day, prices decreased by around 4 per cent for international hotels but increased by around 22 per cent for domestic hotels. The average price for a domestic hotel is INR 6,686, and INR 14,885 for international hotels over the long weekend.