The frequency of Indians, especially from cities like Lucknow, Nashik and Ludhiana, travelling within the country and abroad has gone up, says an expert.
“Overall travel frequency has increased across India. On an average, travellers are doing three to four trips per year. Demand is increasing from tier-II and tier-III cities like Patna, Lucknow, Mysore, Tumkur, Nagpur, Nashik, Ludhiana, Jalandhar, Meerut, Agra, Indore, Bhopal, Ranchi, Imphal and Jabalpur as compared to metros,” Vinay Gupta, founder and chairman of an online marketplace for travel TripFactory, told IANS.
Gupta said the northeast was becoming a popular destination for travellers “but the demand is still lower compared to the top destinations such as Goa, Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir”.
Among the international destinations, places like Singapore, Kuala Lumpur and Colombo were emerging as “weekend trips”, he added.
TripFactory has launched BOGO Cards, which are designed for people who’re looking for convenience across leisure destinations. It is priced attractively to appeal to inspirational travellers.
Launched earlier this month across Mumbai, Delhi and Bengaluru, the cards are prepaid and cost-effective, offer convenience and provide a hassle-free experience.
TripFactory offers weekend packages starting from Rs.2,999, and Indians are spending like never before.
“Holiday and vacation packages are one of the fastest growing segments in the travel industry,” said Gupta, and added that there was a “tremendous growth in destination wedding packages.
“Wedding industry in India is around $40 billion where hotel and allied cost are approximately 10 percent. A lot of group requests are on the rise to destinations like Goa and Rajasthan — the two prime destinations for weddings,” he said.
Even offbeat holidays are on the rise.
“Almost 15 to 20 percent of the travellers are looking to go on offbeat destinations. This is primarily also driven by the fact that most people have visited the popular ones, and also the frequency of weekend trips is increasing because of increased disposable income. Also, holiday moving into a necessity bucket from luxury,” he said.
He pointed out that adventure travel was hugely popular in India as there was a wide range of things to do.
“Activities like trekking and mountaineering, water sports activities, motorcycle touring and mountain biking are some of the popular adventure activities here,” he said.