Long-haul flights gaining preference amongst Indians, says report

More number of Indian travellers are exploring far-off places thanks to improved flight connectivity and better prices over a period of time, a survey said. According to KAYAK, a travel search engine, searches for long haul destinations like Toronto in Canada and Perth in Australia are seen the greatest rise. Gone are the days when people preferred to stay closer home while taking a trip due to restrictions and limitations in transport be it the amount of time it took due to the lack of direct flights, or the expenses involved, travel search engine KAYAK said in a report.
Travelling to far off destinations is no longer difficult now and long-haul flights are gaining preference amongst Indians, it added. Toronto and Perth have seen the greatest rise, with a 95 per cent and 92 per cent year-on-year increase in flight searches, respectively. Other destinations like Boston (US), Paris (France), San Francisco (US) and Melbourne (Australia) have also seen an annual increase of at least a minimum of 21 per cent, according to the report.

Searches were conducted on KAYAK platform between January 2017 and May 2018 for the travel period of January till May 2018 compared to data from search period between January 2016 to May 2017 for the travel period of January-May 2017. Another reason for the growing preference for long haul flights could be the fact that they are decently priced compared to a few years ago, it said.

"While people have always wanted to explore destinations that are not just closer home, it was fairly difficult for Indians to plan and visit countries like North America or Australia. However, with the introduction of more direct flight routes that are priced decently, it is no longer a hassle for Indians to travel far," KAYAK Director of India and Middle East Abhijit Mishra said.

He said there is not just an increase in the preference for long-haul flights, but even the average trip duration that Indians are going on vacations for has seen a jump. None of the long haul destinations has an average trip duration of less than a week, with the average shortest being a fortnight, and the maximum being as long as a month, he added.