According to a recent research, reservations for international leisure flights out of India increased by 40 per cent over the same time last year, pointing to a strong domestic travel industry rebound. But as of 2019, demand is still 15 per cent to 20 per cent below its pre-pandemic high.
Singapore, San Francisco, Melbourne, Toronto, and Bali were the top flight destinations, according to RateGain, a developer of software solutions for the travel and hospitality industries. Around 300 travel businesses, including airlines, hotel chains, tourism organisations, OTAs, and upscale merchants, provide information to the company’s data platform Adara.
Indian couples are drawn to western nations, with the US, Canada, and the UK emerging as the most popular summer travel destinations, according to study data shared with Mint. Singapore and Bali are becoming more well-known throughout Asia.
Many vacation plans were significantly lacking from Europe, perhaps as a result of visa complications. The Schengen region, which consists of 27 European countries, was the subject of a Mint piece last month about the difficulties Indian travellers were having in getting their visas processed.
While some tour operators claimed that European embassies failed to foresee the increase in demand from India, others blamed visa processing firms like VFS Global for the delay.
According to the study, the US, Singapore, the United Arab Emirates, Canada, and Thailand are the most popular travel destinations for Indian families. While Thailand continues to be a popular choice for leisure travel among solitary travellers, the US, Canada, and the UK continue to be the top destinations for solo travellers.
Travellers travelling alone are scheduling more trips to places like Qatar and the UAE, mostly for business rather than pleasure.
These areas have developed into important centres for work-related activity, drawing lone travellers looking for professional engagements and prospects.
19.8 per cent of the family tourists who were monitored reserved accommodations with an average daily fee of $400 (about $33,000). Notably, compared to couples, this group of family visitors booked twice as many accommodations at this price.
“These trends indicate that the Indian travel market is recovering from the pandemic, with a focus on leisure travel concentrated in western countries. Business travel is also recovering in locations like the US, Canada, and the UK. Families are travelling more and are booking higher-priced hotels,” said the company’s spokesperson.
