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

Using data from more than 100 million active users, the agency’s first “India Travel Trends Report” showed that the number of people taking more than three trips per year has grown by 25 per cent in 2023 as compared to 2019. Weekend getaways were a particular favourite for travellers with searches for Jim Corbett National Park in Uttarakhand growing by 131 per cent in 2023 as compared to 2022. Ooty and Munnar were the other favourites in this context.

Unsuprisingly, spiritual sojourns showed a consistent growth in popularity with a 97 per cent rise in searches in the last two years by residents of tier-2 and tier-3 cities. Searches for Ayodhya grew by 585 per cent, Ujjain by 359 per cent and Badrinath by 343 per cent in 2023 as compared to 2022.

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

Rajesh Magow, the co-founder and group CEO of MakeMyTrip said that understanding the evolving travel behaviour of Indian travellers is essential in shaping the future of tourism, both domestically and globally. “As India emerges as a formidable force in the tourism sector, [our report’s] 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,” he said.

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According to the report, family travel bookings surged by 64 per cent in 2023 as compared to 2022, followed by solo traveller bookings increasing by 23 per cent for the same period. A significant portion of travel bookings were made spontaneously, with 46 per cent 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 one-third of international bookings were made more than a month before the travel date, suggesting a flexible approach to international travel planning among Indian travellers. Travellers from Kolkata demonstrated a higher proclivity to book flights over three months in advance for both international and domestic flights.

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Interestingly, the report also revealed that women prefer to pre-book window seats while men pick aisle seats. As for hotel bookings, around 56 per cent reserved hotel rooms less than a week before the day of travel. International hotel bookings were made at least 30 days before the date of travel by 33 per cent of users.

Alternative accommodations on the platform saw an increase in growth, recording a 24 per cent rise in bookings in 2023. For hostels and apartments, travellers preferred rooms costing less than INR 2,500 per night. People living in northern states showed a higher preference for hostel bookings, those in the east of India preferred hotels, while those in the south of India preferred alternative accommodations like homestays. Close to 20 per cent of family travellers searched for properties with tariffs over INR 10,000 per night.