Driven by strong festive-season demand, advance airfares across major Indian cities have risen by up to 52% for travel between October 19 and 25, compared to the peak festive period of last year (October 30 to November 5, 2024). Data shared by online travel aggregator ixigo shows that the Mumbai-Patna route has recorded the steepest increase, with average one-way non-stop fares soaring 52% to Rs 14,540 around the Diwali festive period of this year. On the Bengaluru-Lucknow and Mumbai-Kolkata sectors, fares have jumped 47% each, to Rs 9,899 and Rs 10,264 respectively.
Aloke Bajpai, Group CEO, ixigo, said, “Advance flight bookings for the festive season in October have already surpassed last year’s trends, with bookings to major metros recording over 100% YoY growth. Given the strong demand, advance airfares to major metros have also increased 20-25% compared to last year. We are also gearing up for festive sales across flights, hotels and buses, including attractive offers and discounts to travellers this festive season."
IxiGo stated that they are also seeing a sharp surge in train and bus bookings. Advance train bookings for popular routes have surged by 18-25% this year for Diwali dates while bus bookings this festive season have surged nearly 3x YoY for the October 2–12 travel window for Dussehra getaways.
While the outlook remains positive, prolonged rainfall in certain regions is currently weighing on the travel and hospitality industry. Ajay Prakash, Vice Chairperson, Federation of Associations in Indian Tourism and Hospitality (FAITH), told TNIE that this season so far has been 'okay' but nothing great.
“As compared to last year it is a bit lower and the primary reason is excessive rain. The rains have been unusually heavy this year. West Bengal just a day before saw heavy torrential downpour, Uttarakhand is another state that has borne nature's fury, so it will have an impact on tourism. However we expect things to get better once the monsoon ends and domestic tourists tend to book last minute, too,” stated Prakash.
Ravi Gosain, President of IATO, also stated that prolonged rains have played a dampener and airfares and average room rates have not spiked yet. However, he expects things to perk up for the travel and hospitality industry around Diwali.
Nikhil Sharma, Managing Director & COO, South Asia, Radisson Hotel Group said that the festive period around Navratri and Dussehra is shaping up to be a very strong travel season for them. He added, “We are already seeing a surge in demand across leisure destinations like Pondicherry, Mahabalipuram, Udaipur, Jaipur, and Uttarakhand, with Goa standing out as the clear highlight, where hotels are likely to be sold out over the long weekend. Occupancy levels are climbing sharply, and average room rates are trending nearly 30% higher than regular periods.”