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New Delhi: The travel industry is predicting 2025 to be a banner year, citing advance booking trends that they say are highly promising. ET Year-end Special Reads Why these three sectors look promising for investors in 2025 18 top stock picks for 2025 from 6 leading brokers Buying a home in 2025? Here's how property market can shape up While the Maha Kumbh Mela that starts in Prayagraj this month is a demand driver early on, industry executives say bookings are expected to be strong for travel during the summer period and beyond as well. "We expect this to be a bigger and better year for travel compared to last year," said Romil Pant, executive vice president and business head for holidays at Thomas Cook (India).
"There is lots happening that is expected to drive greater demand, be it improved connectivity to CIS countries, Vietnam and even the Gulf from India, besides improved domestic air connectivity." Thomas Cook said it is seeing high double-digit growth in bookings this month compared with January last year. Bookings Up for Summer Travel The trend is being driven by the mega religious event in Prayagraj as well as the Indian cricket team’s ongoing tour of Australia where the final Test begins Friday.
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Travelers are gravitating toward experiential journeys, with a clear trend toward premiumisation and a growing tendency to travel more frequently. These shifts are poised to gain even greater momentum, said MakeMyTrip cofounder and group chief executive Rajesh Magow. Rajnish Kumar, group co-CEO at Ixigo, said January and February this year are going to be big for spiritual tourism, and the company is seeing a significant increase in searches and bookings for Prayagraj across all modes of transport — trains, buses and flights.
The travel portal is also seeing a large number of bookings by first-time flyers from tier-two and tier-three cities. “Airports such as Varanasi, Rajkot, Vijaywada and Jharsuguda reported an over 50% year-on-year growth in passenger segments for us," said Kumar. "These cities are not just contributing to domestic travel but are also emerging as significant contributors to international travel,” he added.
INTERNATIONAL CALLING India’s outbound travel spending, which reached $17 billion in financial year 2024, is expected to grow further, underscoring the country’s expanding global travel footprint, said Kumar. The average booking value for international travel is expected to be Rs 2 lakh, with travellers opting for 5-night trips on average, said Sabina Chopra, chief operating officer for corporate travel at Yatra Online. Southeast Asia remains the most popular choice and is expected to account for 50% of all international bookings.
“The top domestic destinations in demand are Goa, Port Blair, Kerala, Kashmir, Mumbai, Udaipur and Amritsar. On the international front, Singapore, Bangkok, Phuket, Male, Krabi, Colombo, and Dubai are emerging as the most sought-after destinations,” said Chopra. According to a survey by travel portal Agoda, escaping from the hustle and bustle of daily life is by far the most important reason to travel, with 80% of Indian respondents expressing their desire for relaxation when on vacation.
“Technology is playing a pivotal role in shaping travel plans. A substantial majority of travellers (80%) plan to use travel apps, while about one in eight (12%) are interested in virtual reality tours,” said Krishna Rathi, senior country director, India at Agoda. “Indian travellers appear to be most tech-savvy, with nine out of ten respondents claiming the use of travel apps when booking a trip.
” Technology is also transforming travel planning and management. Ixigo said in 2024, it saw more than 1.3 million users using its AI-trip planner.
More than 60% of the users were from tier two and three cities. Jatinder Paul Singh, cofounder and CEO of Viaction, said ecotourism, wellness retreats and adventure sports are likely to be on the rise. "More and more people are looking forward to travel that blends relaxation with nature and cultural immersion," he said.
Meanwhile, easing visa rules are expected to drive demand further. ET had reported that by the spring of 2025, the first visa-free tourist groups from India are expected to travel to Moscow. Indians can apply for an e-visa to the Philippines, while Malaysia has officially extended visa exemption for Indian nationals until December 31, 2026, allowing them to visit the country without a visa for up to 30 days.
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