Holidaying international? Here’s a list of weekend getaways to where Indians are headed

Thankful to the five weekends and public holidays coming up in April Thomas Cook India has come up with a list of international trends that you may want to visit.

International travel trips from metro cities of India has captured the attention of adhoc and business travellers to places like Singapore, Maldives and Bali.

“Short haul international destinations are growing in popularity for long weekends, given easy access with under five hours of air travel. Strong interest for favourites like Dubai, Singapore, Hong Kong, Thailand, Sri Lanka, Malaysia and Bali,” Rajeev Kale, President & Country Head Leisure Travel & M.I.C.E at Thomas Cook (India) Limited said.

The report by Thomas Cook pointed out that affordability of airfares has resulted in long weekend travels for India.

“Increased connectivity-penetration, attractive airfares/discounts, and entry of low cost carriers have added impetus to the long weekend growth story,” Kale said.

Kale added, “Not surprisingly TCIL (Thomas Cook India Limited)’s data indicates highest uptake from the family segment 55%, followed closely by young professionals/ad hoc groups of friends 40%,”

There was a 35% increase in international online bookings YTD against 2016, as per the data trends analysed by Thomas Cook and 40% growth for domestic online bookings YoY.

The preferred destinations listed by Thomas Cook were as follows:

1. Bengaluru travellers popularly chose Thailand, Singapore, Bali, Dubai

2. Delhiites were mainly travelling to Mauritius, Sri Lanka, Maldives

3. While Mumbaikars opted for Dubai, Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong-Macau and Bali

For ‘domestic getaways’ Uttarakhand was labelled as a popular choise among Himachal, Nagaland, Koidaikanal and Mount Abu.

“Increased demand seen in 2017 from Mini-Metros and Tier 2 cites up by 25%. Enhanced airline network-connectivity and online services from regional India fuelling demand. This has resulted in the strong emergence of language-specific tours catering to Gujarati, Marathi, Kannada, Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu, Hindi and Bengali customers,” Kale said.

The report added that the maximum number of travellers during long weekends were observed from Bangalore, Delhi and Mumbai.

“With airlines launching fresh new destinations, Indians now have a great range of new options to choose from (Air Arabia to Baku, Georgia and Garuda to Jakarta); equally new attractions and sightseeing options like Dubai Parks & Resorts – with a Bollywood themed park) adding further allure to weekend/long weekend travel,” Kale said.