Year-end 2023: How did Indians travel this year? 8 Biggest Travel Trends

2023 will see a significant surge in travel interest among various Indian segments, including multi-generational families, millennials, Gen Z, and business and leisure travelers. A change in consumer behavior means a shift in spending patterns during travel, facilitated by the emergence of new and easily accessible financing models that make travel finance readily available.

Also, travel is no longer limited to a specific time of the year, it has now become a year-round activity with significant growth in many mini-cations.

Here are some key insights into how Indians will travel in 2023:

• Thailand, Dubai, Singapore and Bali will be the top international tourist destinations in 2023. According to Skyscanner, Dubai claims its place as the most popular international destination in 2023, while Bangkok is in second place.
• However, places like Hong Kong, Vietnam, Kazakhstan and Istanbul are emerging as new favourites, according to MakeMyTrip.
• The travel booking portal also noted that travel to visa-free destinations is on the rise. Both Malaysia and Sri Lanka saw a surge in booking days after lifting visa requirements.
• Goa, Rajasthan, Varanasi, Kerala, Manali, Ooty, Darjeeling, Coorg, Visakhapatnam, Pondicherry, Srinagar, Amritsar, Gangtok, and Rishikesh, says Rajesh Makow, Co-Founder & Group CEO, MacMyTrip Group, India.
• OYO, meanwhile, pointed out that spiritual tourism, in particular, is gaining momentum.
• According to year-end booking data, Puri has topped the list as the most booked spiritual destination, along with Amritsar, Varanasi and Haridwar.
• “Ayodhya is another city that has immense potential as a spiritual destination for tourism, especially the Ram temple that is about to open. We believe that by 2024, the tourism industry could see a tenfold increase in tourism, making Ayodhya a global spiritual center like Vatican City and Mecca.
• Referring to the peak travel period for Indians, an OYO spokesperson said, “Among various dates, September 30, 2023 stands out as the most booked date. Notably, the period from September 30 to October 2 recorded the highest number of bookings of any long weekend of the year, while May 2023 recorded the highest number of bookings for the month.”

Travel Trends for 2024:

Mohit Joshi, travel trends and destination expert at Skyscanner, said, „We expect this momentum to only grow next year, with 86% of Indian travelers planning to travel abroad in 2024, if not more, in 2024, according to the 2024 report.”

„With airfares down by a third in the last 12 months, we forecast Nice, France to be a great value destination for Indian travelers by 2024.”