Travel sector rides high on wedding season; tier II cities emerge preferred choices

Travel surge during wedding season.

It's a mad rush this wedding season, with online travel platforms seeing travel bookings like never before. And certainly not since the Covid years.

Business after Diwali is touching an all time high thanks to the wedding season starting early,  said Aloke Bajpai, Group CEO of travel technology platform ixigo.

The platform has recorded a 70-80 percent increase in flight bookings for both domestic and international travel this wedding season compared to last year. "There has also been a rise in group bookings for travel in November and December," Bajpai said.

"Normally we see a spike in flight bookings pre-Diwali and things slow down a bit and then comes the wedding season spike. But this year for the wedding season, the spike is higher than the Diwali spike. The week post Diwali was way better than any marriage season I have seen, especially in the post-Covid period."

EaseMyTrip has seen a 15 percent increase in travel bookings compared to last year during the wedding season of 2024.

Air travel is experiencing the highest bookings compared to trains and buses for this year's wedding season,Rikant Pittie, Co-Founder, EaseMyTrip, said.

"Peak in air traffic is partly because of capacity expansion with airlines like Indigo bringing some planes back, Pratt and Whitney (P&W) issues getting dissolved (IndiGo has received word from P&W that the aircraft grounded due to defects with powder metal used to make some of the popular Pratt & Whitney geared turbofan engines will be addressed), these things are helping. Wedding season is driving business in the October-December quarter. We are also seeing people booking for December and expect more travel bookings for Christmas and New Year," Bajpai added.

Pittie noted that the peak seen in domestic passengers which crossed the 5 lakh-mark for the first time on November 17 is majorly the crowd for the weddings.

He expects this momentum to continue as people have started planning for Christmas and New Year. "We have seen multiple advance bookings for their winter vacations."

This trend of rising air passengers will continue as foreign tourist arrivals numbers have also started improving and is much better than last November, said Anil Kalsi, Alternate Board Member, Federation of Associations in Indian Tourism and Hospitality (FAITH).

Local love

"Key metro hubs like Delhi, Mumbai, Srinagar, Jaipur, and Goa are witnessing 40 percent year-on-year growth in bookings, while tier-II cities are also surging," said Pittie.

Tier-II cities are powering the wedding season this year, Bajpai said.

"Travel to tier II and III cities in November and December have seen a significant rise, with Varanasi bookings up by an impressive 265 percent and Gorakhpur by 109 percent. Amritsar, Chandigarh and Patna have also recorded an increase of over 70 percent in flight bookings."

Varanasi stands out as a great example of when bookings are a mix of weddings and religious tourism and it might have become a new destination for weddings, he added.

Other destinations like Lucknow, Ranchi and Trivandrum recorded a 51 percent, 69 percent and 43 percent rise in flight bookings, respectively post Diwali for travel during November and December, as per ixigo data.

"We’ve observed a significant rise in demand from tier II cities during the wedding season, and it’s a trend that’s steadily gaining momentum," said Hari Ganapathy, Co-founder, Pickyourtrail.

Flying abroad

While domestic destinations remain strong for post-wedding getaways, international bookings have surged, Pittie said.

Overseas honeymoon bookings to destinations in South-East Asia and the Middle East have risen by 2x on EaseMyTrip.

"Indians are increasingly making bookings for honeymoon travel, showcasing a shift in preferences toward destinations like Thailand, the Andaman Islands, and Vietnam, moving away from traditional spots like the Maldives and Kerala," he added.

International destination weddings have become a thing and post wedding people going for honeymoon will spike leisure travel abroad with bookings for Thailand, Vietnam, Sri Lanka surging. "For Phuket, we have seen more than 200 percent growth. Thailand will see an Indian influx in the coming few days. For Malaysia, we have seen a more than 200 percent growth versus last year," Bajpai said.

Dubai has recorded over 60 percent growth, Bangkok, more than a 100 percent spike, Bali has seen an over 148 percent travel booking spike on Ixigo. "Hanoi saw 93 percent, Singapore saw a 53 percent growth. It could be a mix of destination weddings as well as honeymoon. This time Diwali was early and the wedding season started soon after it. Usually when there is a gap between the two events then we see a dip in bookings but this time there was no gap. Demand expansion and airline sales have also helped grow the market for air travel," he added.

Maldives has emerged as the preferred choice, capturing 37 percent of honeymoon bookings, with Bali following closely at 33 percent, according to PickYourTrail data.

The platform's data further showed that couples from Chennai are particularly drawn to the tropical allure of Bali and Thailand. Newlyweds from Bengaluru display a clear preference for the Maldives. "Vietnam, Dubai, and Europe are witnessing a noticeable uptick in demand for honeymoon travel, with Vietnam seeing a 12 percent increase, Dubai experiencing a 16 percent rise, and Europe close behind with a 15 percent growth, Ganapathy said.

High spends

Along with bookings, cost of travel during the wedding season is also higher.

Since Covid, there has been a gradual rise in travel-related inflation, leading to an overall 35 percent increase in package costs across the board and this trend extends to honeymoon bookings as well, Ganapathy said.

"Average transaction value has moved up. While the 30-minute advance booking fare is lower, the spot fares are higher so it has balanced out. On an average, it will be slightly (more) expensive than last year. But booking early can save some money," Bajpai said.

For routes like Delhi-Bengaluru, Chennai -Kolkata, Delhi-Goa ixigo recorded a dip in air fare by 20 percent for 30 days advance bookings and for some routes it was 14-15 percent, he added.

On the other hand, the Delhi to Srinagar route now costs around Rs 15,000-Rs 20,000 for a round trip, reflecting a 30-50 percent rise from the earlier Rs 10,000-Rs 15,000, noted Pittie. "Similarly, Mumbai to Goa fares are now Rs 8,000-Rs 12,000, a 20-33 percent increase from the earlier Rs 6,000-Rs 10,000. Bangalore to Jaipur fares have risen to Rs 12,000-Rs 18,000, up 20-33 percent from Rs 9,000-Rs 15,000."

According to MakeMyTrip (MMT) data, couples are willing to spend extra on luxury and indulgence during their honeymoon. The average spending per couple has increased by 13 percent YoY.

Wedding season travel trends

Easy visa destination Japan witnessed the highest YoY growth of 388 percent in honeymoon package bookings, noted MakeMyTrip data. Other long-haul destinations that have seen maximum growth for honeymoon package bookings include Scandinavia, the United States, South Africa, and Australia and New Zealand.

Honeymoon package bookings have grown by 25 percent year-on-year (YoY). More than 95 percent of honeymoon package bookings this year included curated experiences/activities. MMT saw a 56 percent growth in bookings of premium romantic activities such as couples' photoshoots, romantic dining, cruises, couples' spa sessions, and floating breakfasts.