NEW DELHI: India’s travel and hospitality sector is set for a strong upswing this long weekend, with early trends indicating that travellers are heading to popular destinations in large numbers. The absence of steep hikes in airfares and room rates is further encouraging many to make last-minute travel plans.
"Long weekends have always been a popular reason for travel among travellers, and the window between Independence Day and Raksha Bandhan is no exception,” Manjari Singhal, Chief Growth and Business Officer, Cleartrip told TNIE.
He added, “Leisure travel has seen a significant increase following recent geopolitical developments, with rising interest in monsoon retreats, spiritual journeys, and wellness-focused getaways as travellers seek more meaningful experiences.”
As per Cleartrip's travel trends tracker, PeekABoo, airfares between metro cities and popular tourist destinations are averaging between Rs 6000 - Rs 7000, holding steady with no major increase. Hotel rates, however, are averaging Rs 5000 - Rs 6000 which is higher than last year.
Rajesh Magow, Co-founder and Group CEO of MakeMyTrip said that Independence Day has emerged as a key travel occasion over the years and this year too, the search and booking trends point to strong intent to travel over the weekend.
“With Independence Day on a Friday, travel demand, appears to be peaking two days earlier, on Wednesday, 13th August, giving early travellers a five-day window,” stated Magow.
According to the country’s largest online travel platform, Goa, Udaipur, Coorg, Mahabaleshwar, Ooty, and Pondicherry are some of the most trending domestic cities. International destinations such as Pattaya, Bali, Dubai, Kuala Lumpur, Zurich and London are in high demand,
Industry experts stated that an eventful long weekend is important for them given they faced a severe setback in May and June due to the India-Pakistan clash and Air India Boeing 787 Dreamliner (flight number Al171) crash. The two events had curtailed travel activity.
K B Kachru, President, Hotel Association of India (HAI) and Chairman, South Asia, Radisson Hotel Group, said this year, 15 August falls on a Friday, offering an ideal opportunity for staycations and short holidays. "Reports and trends indicate a rise in both occupancy and room rates over the long Independence Day weekend. Some properties are witnessing up to a 40% surge in bookings compared to last year, with ADRs expected to be 10-15% higher year-on-year," Kachru said.
Puneet Chhatwal, MD and CEO of Indian Hotels Company Limited (IHCL), which owns the Taj brand, said, "The long weekend is looking very good. We have a lot of resort destinations, so we are very pleased to see all the buoyancy come back".
A senior executive of an airline said that passenger load factor between metro cities and tourist hotspots is well above 90% for most days of this week. “Spot airfare between routes such as Delhi and Goa, Mumbai and Leh, and Bengaluru and Bangkok are up anywhere between 50-80%. Despite the hike, we continue to see bookings in large numbers,” he stated.