Latest News | Thailand, Vietnam, London, Bali Top Destinations This Winter; Flight Bookings Up 80-100 Pc: Report

Mumbai, Dec 12 (PTI) Thailand, Vietnam, London, and Bali, have emerged among top overseas travel destinations during winter this year with flight bookings seeing an 80-100 per cent spike, according to data by travel app Ixigo and bus ticket booking online platform Abhibus.

On the domestic side, the appeal of scenic winter landscapes and the charm of snowfall seem to be drawing more travellers to the mountains this season with major north India hill stations such as Jammu, Srinagar, and Dehradun, all seeing an upward year-on-year growth in flight bookings, it said.

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Along with this, flight bookings to spiritual destinations like Shirdi, Tirupati, Amritsar, and Varanasi have seen a growth between 22 per cent and as high as 669 per cent year-on-year, ixigo said.

As per the data, the year-on-year increase in flight booking ranges from 48-174 per cent for travel to international destinations such as Bangkok, Phuket, Abu Dhabi, Colombo, Singapore, London, Vietnam, Bali, and Dubai for December 20, 2024-January 2, 2025.

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In terms of airfares (one-way), certain routes such as Mumbai-Ho Chi Minh City (Vietnam) have seen a year-on-year increase of 6 per cent on 30 days advanced purchase date (APD) basis while others like Mumbai-Phuket saw a rise of up to 47 per cent year-on-year, data show.

On the other hand, airfares for departure on the Mumbai-London route dropped 46 per cent year-on-year and New Delhi-Ho Chi Minh City by a negative 18 per cent, as per data.

The one-way airfares have been calculated for departure on December 24, 2023-January 1, 2024 vis-a-vis December 24, 2024-January 1, 2025.

Back home, in terms of airfares (one-way), routes such as Delhi-Hyderabad (departure) have seen a year-on-year increase of 17 per cent and as low as 3 per cent on Bengaluru-Lucknow and Pune-New Delhi routes on 30 days APD basis, according to the data.

On the other hand, airfares for departure on the Chennai-Kolkata route have declined 34 per cent but just 3 per cent on the Kolkata-Hyderabad route, it stated.

"As we approach the year-end holiday season, we're seeing a fascinating shift in travel preferences. Destinations like Thailand, Vietnam, London, and Bali have emerged as the top picks for international travel this winter witnessing an 80-100 per cent year-on-year growth in bookings," ixigo Group CEO Aloke Bajpai said.

"For the first time, Maldives has not featured in the top-10 most-searched destinations for year-end travel, reflecting a growing preference for more varied and immersive vacations over traditional hotspots," he stated.

"The year-end holiday season is driving a significant surge in bus travel, with a strong preference for spiritual hotspots over leisure destinations, as six travellers are choosing a spiritual journey for every one opting for leisure," AbhiBus Chief Operating Officer Rohit Sharma said.

"We have observed a remarkable 50 per cent YoY increase in bookings from female solo travellers, as more women embrace bus journeys for their year-end travel plans," he added.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)