The dreadful COVID-19 pandemic is steadily waning and just like everyone in the world, Indians too, are heading out for the holiday season, and even 'revenge travel' as airlines, hotels, and destinations open up.
A new search report from US-based vacation rental firm Airbnb reveals that for domestic travellers, Kerala is a more popular beach destination than Goa, apart from the hills of Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, as well as the North-Eastern regions.
Under these categories, Airbnb saw over 375 percent increase in searches for Kerala from Q3 2021 to Q3 2022, followed by Goa (almost 275 percent increase in searches) and Pondicherry (over 200 percent increase).
The report, which compared search data from Q3 2021 to Q3 2022, also stated that hill stations of Uttarakhand witnessed over 100 percent increase in searches, while Himachal Pradesh saw over 50 percent rise in the same period.
More importantly, the North Eastern region has proved to be a trending destination among travellers. Airbnb’s search data showed an increase of over 450 percent in searches for stays in Meghalaya, over 400 percent increase in searches for Assam, and almost 300 percent increase in searches for Nagaland from Q3 2021 to Q3 2022.
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Additionally, overall nights booked in India grew by almost half, while domestic nights booked grew by almost 80 percent in Q3 2022, compared to Q3 2019, Airbnb stated.
Indians and their love for overseas
In addition to domestic travel, Airbnb's report also highlighted Indians' love for travelling across the globe. According to the report, long-haul favourites such as the US, UK and cities across Europe featured prominently in guest searches overseas, with London, Dubai, Paris, Toronto and New York ranking among the top-searched overseas cities in Q3 of 2022.
"While interest in traditionally popular destinations remains high, Indians are also expanding their travel horizons and looking to explore new overseas destinations," stated Airbnb, adding that the company saw a "whopping increase of more than 1,250 percent in searches for stays in Turkey, over 750 percent increase in searches in Norway, and over 625 percent increase in searches for Portugal, and a more than 600 percent increase in searches for South Africa."
Indians were also observed searching for other trending overseas destinations, including Poland and Finland (both more than 500 percent), Greece (over 450 percent), and South Korea (over 400 percent).
Travel necessities
Primarily being a 'bed-and-breakfast' service, where property owners rent out their spaces to travellers looking for a place to stay, Airbnb noted that when travelling, Indian guests searched for amenities that help facilitate flexible new ways of travelling and living, with pools, Wi-Fi, kitchens, air conditioner and washer all making up the top five most searched filters. This data was based on searches made in Q3 2022 for December 18, 2022 - January 2, 2023 check-in dates.
As several companies, and organisations across the country make their way to winter vacations and flexible office-home work schedules, Airbnb stated that this winter will continue to see guests visit destinations both near and far, seeking sun, sand and water. The top five booked categories by Indians this winter are Tropical, National park, Pool, Beach and Iconic cities, it added.
Commenting on the data, Amanpreet Bajaj, Airbnb’s General Manager for India, Southeast Asia, Hong Kong and Taiwan, said, "Popular travel hotspots of Europe, the United Kingdom and the United States remain high on Indian travellers' bucket lists. Closer-to-home destinations such as Thailand, Dubai, Indonesia and Singapore also remain popular, as do local beach and hill destinations across India. This growing appetite for travel is a positive sign as tourism recovery gathers pace."
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