skift take
As the Indian tourism industry is set to witness significant growth in 2024, MakeMyTrip shares insights on the changing preferences of Indian travelers.
Bulbul Dhawan
Indian travelers are increasingly interested in weekend getaways and spiritual tourism, according to online travel agency MakeMyTrip’s first travel trends report. A report released by the platform on Monday said searches for destinations with or near religious spots have increased by 97% over the past two years.
Spiritual tourism is also driving the growth of tourism in tier 2 and tier 3 cities. MakeMyTrip recorded a 585% increase in searches for Ayodhya in 2023. There was an increase of 343% in Badrinath and 359% in Ujjain.
In the domestic hotel sector, weekend travel showed the highest growth. Popular destination Jim Corbett has seen a 131% year-on-year increase in searches, followed by Ooty and Munnar. “Many travelers are heading to these destinations by car from nearby metros,” MakeMyTrip said in a report.
Skift’s previous report said that India’s tourism industry is poised for significant growth, with revenue projected to be $24 billion in 2024.
Increase in discretionary travel spending
According to MakeMyTrip, the number of travelers taking three or more trips a year in 2023 will increase by 25% compared to 2019. Indians are also spending more of their discretionary income on travel. There is also a growing interest in domestic travel and travel to unexplored destinations, especially as infrastructure improves.
2023 saw an increase in staycations and experiential travel. Bookings for family travel increased by 64% year over year, while bookings for solo travelers increased by 23%. According to MakeMyTrip, trips for two people account for 50% of all bookings. Also, December and May were recorded as the most preferred months for travel.
Planned overseas travel even if it’s just a random domestic trip
The report said Indians tend to travel spontaneously when it comes to domestic bookings. 46% of domestic flight bookings were made within a week of the travel date.
However, international bookings had longer planning horizons, with 51% of international bookings completed at least 15 days before departure. A third of international bookings are made more than a month in advance.
MakeMyTrip observed the same pattern in hotel bookings. More than 50% of domestic hotel reservations for leisure purposes are booked within one week of travel. One-third of his overseas hotel reservations are made at least 30 days in advance.
Indian traveler preferences
30% of all international travel searches from India were for Dubai, Bangkok and Singapore. “London, Toronto and New York were the most searched long-haul destinations,” MakeMyTrip said in its report. The platform also recorded a spike in searches for Bali, Bangkok, Phuket and Singapore, with interest in international travel also increasing over the long weekend.
When it comes to domestic travel, two-thirds of travelers prefer to pre-select their seats on a plane. When traveling abroad, this number drops to 40% because the platform is shared. Additionally, the indigenously developed Unified Payments Interface (UPI) is the most preferred payment method for Indian travelers, accounting for 36% of all transactions.
Travel gift cards are becoming increasingly popular in India as well. Half of the travel gift cards are given on wedding occasions and the remaining 50% are given on occasions such as birthdays and festivals.
Hotels continue to be the most popular type of accommodation, with hotel searches expected to increase by 39% in 2023 compared to the previous year. The majority of guests booking hotels were couples and family travelers.
Searches for alternative accommodation increased by 24%. Friends and large groups prefer to book homestays, apartments, and villas, while many solo travelers prefer hostels.
