This monsoon is not turning out to be a lean period for the travel space, with more Indians stepping out to experience new and offbeat places. Fuelling this demand are lower flight and hotel fares.
Lower air fares during the monsoons are a major reason for this unconventional travel trend, said Rikant Pittie, Co-founder, EaseMyTrip.
This year, airfares for June-September travel are lower by 13 percent compared to last year's same period for bookings done till July 6, said Karthick Prabu - Head of Strategy, Cleartrip. He said that in hotels, they are recording 11 percent lesser room night prices in comparison to last year during the same time period.
"Monsoon season is typically considered a low-demand period, in contrast to the summer and winter seasons, resulting in more affordable travel opportunities. For travelers who have been facing expensive airfares since the beginning of 2023, choosing to travel during the monsoons presents an appealing option to plan trips and short getaways during the off-peak season. Moreover, many airlines introduce monsoon sales during the month of July, offering significant discounts on flights," said Aloke Bajpai, Group CEO & Co-Founder, ixigo, online travel aggregator (OTA).
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Online travel agency Agoda has recorded a 5x increase in monsoon travel searches compared to the 2019 statistics. Ixigo's booking data shows a 70 percent rise in travel during the monsoon season this year as compared to 2022. "When considering the difference in travel demand during monsoon period between 2023 and 2019, the surge of 55 percent this year indicates a substantial growth in the industry," said Bajpai.
Another OTA EaseMyTrip has seen a 20-30 percent increase in queries this year as compared to 2022. "Domestic flight searches have increased by 30-32 percent and international flight searches have gone over 20 percent for the monsoon season. If we compare the monsoon travel demand with the pre-Covid levels, there has been a 4X increase in travel searches during the monsoon months," said Pittie.
In 2023, there is a shift where the gap in travel demand between summer and the monsoon has become less pronounced compared to previous years like 2018 and 2019, said Yatra's Sabina Chopra, COO, Corporate Travel and Head - Industry Relations.
Hotel chains like Radisson have witnessed a double-digit increase in booking inquiries across its entire portfolio, especially leisure hotels.
"It is a prime window for deal seekers looking to indulge in premium experiences at reduced spending since premium hotel tariffs tend to decline compared to the peak summer season," noted Rajesh Magow, Co-founder and Group CEO, MakeMyTrip.
This monsoon, travel companies are seeing many Indians increasingly taking shorter trips. "A significant portion of travelers are now opting for brief getaways lasting 1-3 days," said Bajpai.
When it comes to destinations, mountains are being preferred more during this year's monsoon with 124 percent increase in travel demand, according to hospitality chain OYO. Even beach destinations have witnessed an uptick of 112 percent compared to last year. Among beach destinations, Goa and Pondicherry emerged as the top choice, followed by destinations like Digha, Alibaug, and Kollam, indicating an increasing desire among travellers to explore offbeat destinations this monsoon, said an OYO spokesperson.
"Off-beat destinations for monsoon getaways, such as Kasuani, Almora, and the outskirts of Nainital in Uttarakhand, have gained recent popularity, along with a noticeable increase in visits to religious places," said Yatra's Chopra.
Places like Varanasi, Tirupati, Rameswaram, Dwarka, and Madurai currently lead the pack in terms of inquiries, said Magow.
"The monsoon season has become a catalyst for an upsurge in travel demand. Hill stations have witnessed a notable shift towards alternative accommodations such as homestays, BNBs, villas, and cottages, while business cities continue to experience a demand for hotel stays," pointed out Chopra.
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