Indians travel more than three times a year, says new report

Travel website MakeMyTrip has released a new report on the preferences of Indian tourists planning their next adventures at home and abroad.

Based on data from more than 100 million active users, the agency’s first ‘India Travel Trends Report’ found that the number of people taking more than three trips a year will grow by 25 percent in 2023 compared to 2019. Weekend getaways were a particular favorite among travelers with a search for Jim Corbett National Park in Uttarakhand growing 131 percent in 2023 from 2022. Ooty and Munnar were the other favorites in this regard.

Unsurprisingly, spiritual stays have seen consistent growth in popularity, with a 97 percent increase in searches over the past two years by residents of tier 2 and tier 3 cities. Searches for Ayodhya grew by 585 percent, Ujjain by 359 percent and Badrinath by 343 percent in 2023 compared to 2022.

International travel searches accounted for 30 percent of all searches, with Dubai, Bangkok and Singapore the top destinations, followed by London, Toronto and New York as the most popular long-haul flights. Searches for emerging international destinations have multiplied in 2023, with Hong Kong, Almaty, Paro, Baku, Da Nang and Tbilisi emerging as firm favourites.

Rajesh Magow, co-founder and group CEO of MakeMyTrip, said understanding the changing travel behavior of Indian travelers is essential in shaping the future of tourism, both domestically and globally. “As India emerges as a formidable force in the tourism sector, the insights (from our report) can help bridge the supply and demand gaps in the travel and hospitality sector. This means crafting policies, identifying destinations and creating experiences that resonate with travelers’ unique travel preferences and aspirations,” he said.

According to the report, family travel bookings increased by 64 percent in 2023 compared to 2022, followed by a 23 percent increase in bookings from solo travelers over the same period. A significant proportion of travel bookings were made spontaneously, with 46 percent of domestic flights booked less than a week before the travel date. In contrast, about half of all international bookings were made at least two weeks in advance. Only a third of international bookings were made more than a month before the travel date, indicating a flexible approach to international travel planning among Indian travelers. Travelers from Kolkata showed a higher tendency to book flights more than three months in advance for both international and domestic flights.

Interestingly, the report also revealed that women prefer to reserve window seats in advance, while men choose aisle seats. When it comes to hotel bookings, about 56 percent reserved hotel rooms less than a week before the day of travel. International hotel bookings were made at least 30 days before the travel date by 33 percent of users.

Alternative accommodations on the platform saw an increase in growth, with a 24 percent increase in bookings by 2023. For hostels and apartments, travelers preferred rooms costing less than INR 2,500 per night. People in northern states showed a greater preference for hostel bookings, people in eastern India preferred hotels, while people in southern India preferred alternative accommodations such as homestays. Nearly 20 percent of family travelers looked for accommodations with rates above INR 10,000 per night.