Speaking of the new trends mentioned in the report, Rajesh Magow, Co-founder and Group CEO, MakeMyTrip said, “As India emerges as a formidable force in the tourism sector, these insights can help bridge the demand and supply gaps in the travel and hospitality space. This means crafting policies, identifying destinations, and creating experiences that resonate with the traveller’s unique travel preferences and aspirations.”

Here are the top 10 trends to look at: 

Where Indians travel

• Number of people taking more than 3 trips per year has grown by 25% in 2023 as compared to 2019. Tier-2 and tier-3 cities are embracing spiritual journeys, with searches for destinations with or around religious spots growing 97% in the last two years.
• 30% of all international travel searches from India are for Dubai, Bangkok and Singapore while London, Toronto and New York are the most searched long-haul destinations. Searches for emerging international destinations grew by multi-fold in 2023 – hot favourites include Hong Kong, Almaty, Paro, Baku, Da Nang and Tbilisi.

Family vs Solo – 

• Family travel bookings surged by 64% in 2023 as compared to 2022, followed by solo traveller booking growth at 23% for the same period.

Flight booking preferences

• 50% of all domestic flyers pick flights between 9am and 6pm irrespective of destination or origin. A significant portion of travel bookings in India are made spontaneously, with 46% of domestic flights booked less than a week before the travel date. In contrast, about half of all international bookings are made at least two weeks in advance.
• Only one-third of international bookings are made more than a month before the travel date, suggesting a flexible approach to international travel planning among Indian travellers.

Accommodation booking preferences –

• 56% of domestic leisure hotel bookings on the platform are made less than a week before the day of travel. 33% of international hotel bookings are made at least 30 days before the date of travel.
• Alternative accommodations on the platform recorded 24% growth in bookings in 2023. For Hostels and Apartments, the preference is for those less than INR 2,500 per night but for Villas, it is higher.
• Close to 20% of family travellers searched for properties with tariffs over INR 10,000 per night.

Payment preference

• UPI is the most preferred payment method to book travel, making close to 40% of all transaction types, followed by use of credit cards. Credit card is the most used payment mode for high value transactions such as to book international hotels and flights. This can be attributed to the benefits associated with credit card payments.

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Published: 24 Apr 2024, 06:21 AM IST