Travel Behaviour in the month of August by Indian travelers
- Lonavala, Pune, and Kochi featured as the most preferred leisure destinations
- Tirupati, Shirdi, and Rishikesh featured as the most preferred religious destinations
- Jaipur, Udaipur, and Agra featured as the most preferred historical destinations
- Pondicherry, Goa, and Puri featured as the most preferred beach destinations
- Ooty, Munnar, and Kodaikanal featured as the most preferred hill stations
- UK, USA, and France featured as the most preferred international destinations
The world has started to emerge from strict border closures and Indians are eager to hit the roads and the skies for a trip. The month of August officially marks the beginning of the festive season and this year Indian travelers are blessed with extended long weekends in the month of August, enabling them to plan longer holidays.
As per the recent APAC Travel Confidence Index Report by Booking.com, 86% of Indian travelers stated that they intend to travel in the next 12 months. And despite some COVID-19 restrictions, travel optimism continues to remain high with 70% of Indian travelers accepting anticipated travel disruptions and 78% considering leisure travel as important while keeping their overall health and safety in mind. Keeping the optimism of Indian travelers in mind and further delving into the travel behavior of Indians for the period of August 1- August 31, 2022, Booking.com, the digital travel leader connecting travelers with the widest choice of unique places to stay, today shared key booking trends for India as the festive season commences.
Further deep diving into the travel behavior of Indian travelers, the destination range beyond metros like New Delhi and Mumbai and leisure, closer to home destinations like Kochi and Lonavala, rather Indian travelers are traveling to religious and historical destinations like Varanasi and Agra in addition to hill and beach destinations like Ooty and Pondicherry. These trends give a holistic overview of travel destinations and preferences of both Indian travelers within India in the month of August 2022, and Indians traveling abroad.
For Indians traveling internationally, other than the UK, USA, and France, they are also booking destinations that are easier to reach and visas can be accessed easily such as Thailand and Indonesia. Hotels continue to be the top booked accommodation type by Indians traveling domestically. Besides hotels, Indians are also looking to stay in alternative accommodations like resorts, guesthouses, homestays, and hostels.
Different kinds of domestic destinations explored by Indian travelers during the festive period of August 1 – August 31, 2022
While New Delhi, Mumbai, and Bengaluru are the top 3 metro destinations preferred by Indian travelers for the month of August, many in India are also exploring leisure destinations like Lonavala, Pune, and Kochi, religious destinations like Tirupati, Shirdi, and Rishikesh, historical and culturally rich destinations like Jaipur, Udaipur, and Agra, or traveling to beach destinations like Pondicherry, Goa and Puri and scenic destinations like Ooty, Munnar, and Kodaikanal.
| Destination types preferred by Indian travelers between August 1 – Aug 31, 2022 | |||||
| Metro | Leisure | Religious | Historical/Art | Beach | Hill |
| New Delhi | Lonavala | Tirupati | Jaipur | Pondicherry | Ooty |
| Mumbai | Pune | Shirdi | Udaipur | Goa | Munnar |
| Bengaluru | Kochi | Rishikesh | Agra | Puri | Kodaikanal |
Indian traveler behavior while traveling internationally for the period of August 1 – August 31, 2022
When looking at international destinations most preferred by Indian travelers for the extended long weekend, destinations such as Thailand, Indonesia, Turkey, Vietnam, and UAE made it to the top 10 list in addition to countries like UK, USA, France, Switzerland, and Malaysia. This also shows that Indians are opting for destinations where obtaining a tourist visa is easier as compared to other countries.
Accommodations preferred – from hotels to hostels
When it comes to accommodation choice, Indians are more likely to opt for hotels in addition to alternate accommodation options like – resorts, guest houses, homestays, and hostels.
Ritu Mehrotra, Regional Commercial Director APAC at Booking.com said, “With Raksha Bandhan on Thursday followed by Independence Day on Monday, Janmashtami on Friday, and many such holidays coming up in August, it is a great opportunity for extended weekend getaways. As per Booking.com’s APAC Travel Confidence Index research released recently, 78% of Indian travelers consider leisure travel as important while keeping their overall health and safety in mind. A testimony to this is our search data that shows that Indians are making travel plans during this festive period and using this opportunity to travel either to nearby destinations or long-haul domestic and international destinations.”
To tap into this demand and make it easier for everyone to explore the world once again, Booking.com is offering Getaway Deals for travelers to use when booking their next trip. Discounts start at a minimum of 15% and are valid for stays till September 30, 2022. In addition, Booking.com is bringing the great value of its Genius program to even more customers by giving all account holders access to the program’s Level 1 benefits, with no minimum number of previous bookings to qualify, including access to exclusive 10% discounts at hundreds of thousands of participating properties around the world. All travelers have to do is download the Booking.com app, log in and look for the Genius logo to identify associated benefits, discounts, and perks.
