They’re emblematic of a brand new era of travellers stepping out of the cosy confines of their houses to expertise festivals of all hues and hues – searching for immersion, journey and a deeper reference to cultural traditions.
Indians are more and more planning journeys round festivals, each inside the nation and overseas, mentioned travel trade executives.
“In terms of home journey, festivals like Holi in Mathura-Vrindavan, Pushkar and Varanasi are attracting extra guests every year. Diwali in Varanasi, Durga Puja in Kolkata…are additionally gaining reputation,” mentioned Viacation cofounder Jatinder Paul Singh.
Whereas main festivals proceed to attract giant crowds, lesser-known regional ones are additionally seeing elevated curiosity.
Yr-round Demand
Dol Jatra in West Bengal, Wangala competition in Meghalaya and Assam, Bundi Utsav and Matsaya festivals in Rajasthan and Manjal Kuli in Kerala are such examples. “Competition tourism is propelling year-round demand, with Indians immersing themselves in numerous traditions,” mentioned SD Nandakumar, nation head at SOTC Journey.With college holidays coinciding with main festivals, households, together with a number of generations, are more and more selecting competition journeys as a technique to bond whereas exploring new locations, he mentioned.
Indians are additionally turning into strategic about competition journey.
“Given the rising reputation of competition journey, there’s understandably an anticipated enhance in charges,” mentioned Rajeev Kale, nation head, holidays, at Thomas Cook dinner (India). “In consequence, we have now noticed a rising development the place travellers who beforehand booked a month upfront are actually planning their journeys two to 3 months forward for key festivals like Diwali, Dussehra, and Durga Pujo to safe early fowl affords and reductions.”
The festivities aren’t confined to India alone, Kale mentioned. “To cater to this rising demand, we have now integrated distinctive festive parts in our excursions, comparable to visits to the BAPS Hindu Mandir in Abu Dhabi and the Ramayana Trails in Sri Lanka; a particular Sadhya lunch throughout Onam and vegetarian meals and satvik bhojan throughout Diwali,” he mentioned. “For Holi, travellers can expertise celebrations in hotspots like Indonesia and Vietnam. Locations like Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and Ras Al Khaimah are additionally gaining reputation for Eid celebrations and festive markets.”
Santosh Kumar, nation supervisor at Reserving.com, mentioned this yr’s Holi, falling on a Friday, has come as a boon for the stressed. “We have noticed a surge in journey curiosity for a mixture of culturally wealthy locations and leisure journey. Hotspots famend for his or her vibrant Holi celebrations, comparable to Vrindavan, Mathura, Pushkar, Jaipur, Shantiniketan and Hampi, are witnessing a surge,” he mentioned. On the similar time, a phase of travellers is choosing peaceable escapes to locations like Puducherry, Lonavala and Ooty.
Solo and group travellers are taking part in a serious function on this shift. “Solo travellers make up the vast majority of competition vacationers, accounting for nearly 70% of attendees, whereas {couples} and households contribute equally, every ranging 10-15%,” mentioned Dharamveer Singh Chouhan, chief govt of Zostel.
Amongst GenZ travellers, who typically want offbeat locations and experiential journey, {couples} barely outnumber group travellers, Chouhan mentioned. He attributed this shift to FOMO (worry of lacking out), social media affect and authorities initiatives selling competition tourism.
EaseMyTrip chief govt Rikant Pittie mentioned the surge in competition journey has had a tangible total financial affect.
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