From Germany’s Oktoberfest to music and cultural occasions nearer residence, a rising variety of Indian travellers are selecting journeys linked to carnivals and festivals, in line with journey corporations and pageant organisers.
Film moments corresponding to Bollywood movie Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara’s La Tomatina pageant track, and Instagram’s journey reels treading the routes much less explored are catching the flowery of millennial and Gen Z travellers and fuelling this pattern.
Govind Gaur, CEO of WanderOn, a D2C travel-tech firm, stated travellers need to immerse themselves in cultural moments, and social media attract is propelling this demand. “We now have launched a ‘journey for a motive’ calendar, with two or three rigorously chosen festivals and seasonal experiences accessible every month,” he stated.
For now, it appears, Indian travellers are loving it.
Journey corporations reckon this displays a broader pattern the place journey is now not confined to particular seasons however pushed by newer causes all yearround.To faucet into this demand, they’ve curated a various portfolio of festival-led holidays — spanning probably the most celebrated festivals to lesser recognized occasions in India and all over the world. Romil Pant, govt vice-president and head of holidays at Thomas Prepare dinner (India) stated apart from attending festivals, the corporate’s itineraries additionally incorporate native crafts, gastronomy and cultural explorations within the packages.
SOTC’s pageant journey portfolio spans world celebrations like Mardi Gras, La Tomatina, Oktoberfest and Rio Carnival, in addition to Indian festivals like Rann Utsav and Goa Carnival.
SD Nandakumar, president and nation head for holidays and company excursions on the firm, stated festival tourism has advanced into a significant journey driver as a result of at present’s travellers appear desirous to be a part of these high-energy cultural moments.
“From the enjoyable waterfights of Thailand’s Songkran Pageant — usually in comparison with our Holi to Japan’s breathtaking Sapporo Snow Pageant with its big ice sculptures, every occasion delivers highly effective emotion and cultural immersion,” he reckons, including, “What’s encouraging is the rising curiosity not simply from metro cities, but additionally from India’s tier-two and tier-three markets.”
Standard festivals
Rann Utsav, Rann Of Kutch, Gujarat
Customer footfalls to the Rann Utsav pageant, held yearly within the gorgeous white desert of Kutch in Gujarat, reached round 7,42,000 in FY24, up from 5,00,000 in FY23. Final yr’s traveller numbers greater than doubled these recorded in FY22 — 3,50,000. Bhavik Sheth, chief working officer of Evoke Experiences, the operator and organiser of Rann Utsav, which works as a public-private partnership mannequin with Gujarat Tourism, says customer footfalls may cross a million this yr, primarily based on advance reserving developments.
“Tent occupancy, significantly in premium classes, has improved year-on-year, with most high-demand dates like full-moon nights and festive weekends getting totally booked effectively upfront — as much as 4 weeks sooner than in earlier years,” stated Sheth.
He stated worldwide and group bookings have additionally proven upward developments, with worldwide company growing by 15%, and group bookings now accounting for 35% of whole reservations. To satisfy this rising demand, tent metropolis capability has been expanded to over 50 tents this yr.
Ziro Music Pageant, Arunachal Pradesh
Govind Gaur, CEO of WanderOn, a D2C travel-tech firm, stated the Ziro Music Pageant in Arunachal Pradesh is rising in reputation, having seen a 60% development in curiosity for the corporate, with journey slots filling up effectively upfront.
Gaur stated the attraction lies not simply within the music, however within the vacation spot as effectively, which is distant, scenic, and deeply rooted in tribal tradition.
The pageant promotes indigenous tribes and artists from Indias Northeast, apart from showcasing Indian and world unbiased music.
Promoted as an eco-friendly, out of doors pageant, it was based in 2012 by entrepreneur Bobby Hano and Menwhopause guitarist Anup Kutty, and has featured a mixture of artists starting from Indus Creed to Rewben Mashangva.
Oktoberfest, Muich, Germany
Oktoberfest, the annual beer pageant in Munich, Germany, touted because the world’s largest people pageant, has additionally reworked from attracting area of interest curiosity for Indian travellers to being a significant draw for everyone.
As per the official Oktoberfest web site, a lot of the worldwide company final yr got here from the US, UK, France, Switzerland, Austria, Poland, Spain, Netherlands, and “for the primary time, more and more from India”.
“We now have noticed a 25% year-on-year enhance in bookings for this occasion, particularly amongst solo travellers,” Gaur added. Adotrip.com founder and CEO Vikas Katoch additionally confirmed that Oktoberfest is likely one of the most demanded worldwide festive excursions. The recognition of Oktoberfest may be topped up by the annual affords and promotions launched across the pageant dates by beer chains corresponding to The Beer Café, which hosted an OktoBEERfest get together all through October final yr, that includes particular German beers and platters.
La Tomatina, Spain
Yearly, revellers in Spain flip the small city of Buñol right into a tomato-splattered playground. Gaur stated WanderOn has lately launched a package deal particularly targeted on the La Tomatina pageant, which is in “important” demand, and that it’s pushed by newly married {couples} and millennials.
It helps that travellers also can discover Valencia’s culinary scene and pattern native dishes like paella and tapas. In the meantime Adotrip additionally flew a 15-member group to Hyderabad for the Toma Terra occasion on Might 11, dubbed as India’s first tomato pageant.
Rio Carnival, Rio De Janeiro, Brazil
For the upcoming Rio de Janeiro Carnival in 2026, Adotrip.com has already acquired over 500 queries, stated Katoch. The Rio Carnival is scheduled from February 13- 18 subsequent yr and is predicted to attract massive crowds.
Earlier, prime Samba colleges would carry out the Samba on the streets of Rio. However, within the Nineteen Eighties, Rio officers and organisers realised a change was so as, and in 1984, they constructed the Sambadrome Marques de Sapucai — a purposebuilt parade space for the consolation of vacationers and to generate better income via tickets. The Sambadrome was renovated in 2012. The stadium can seat over 80,000 guests and accommodate 5,000 members via the huge Marques de Sapucai Avenue.
Bir Music Pageant, Himachal Pradesh
Adotrip organised a package deal for near 30 travellers for the Bir Music Pageant in Himachal Pradesh this yr. The thirteenth season of the pageant shall be held from December 26-27 this yr. As per the official web site, the pageant options 48 hours of continuous music, has hosted 13,000 company, and has seen performances by 500 artistes.
Goa Carnival, Goa
By the way, overseas vacationers are additionally coming to India to take a look at the native scene. Goa Tourism stated this yr’s Goa Carnival in March attracted a “important” variety of worldwide vacationers. The Carnival included “familyfriendly” occasions, avenue performs, and youngsters’s parades. The pageant’s signature float parade set off from Panjim, persevering with via Mapusa, Morjim, Margao and Vasco. Elaborately embellished floats showcased Goa’s folklore, traditions and fashionable inventive expressions.
Mardi Gras, New Orleans, US
Journey corporations stated travellers are additionally taking a elaborate to Mardi Gras celebrations in New Orleans, US, which has jazz, masquerades and Creole flavours on provide. French for ‘Fats Tuesday’, Mardi Gras is well known globally, however probably the most in depth celebrations happen in New Orleans. The pageant is widespread for its elaborate parades, costumes and meals feasts, symbolising indulgence earlier than the fasting interval begins.
Lantern Pageant, Hoi An, Vietnam
In 2024, Vietnam welcomed about 5,00,000 Indian vacationers, a 297% leap in comparison with pre-pandemic ranges. The lantern pageant in Hoi An is a significant draw and lights up the traditional city. The pageant is held on the 14th day of the lunar month when the moon is at its fullest and brightest.
Songkran Pageant, Thailand
Songkran brings with it water fights, temple visits and many Thai avenue meals. Akin to Holi, Sonkran, marking the Thai new yr, is well known with households and locals partaking in playful water fights, symbolising the washing away of previous yr’s troubles. To be held subsequent yr from April 13- 15, the pageant may also embrace cultural performances, magnificence contests, sand sculpture contests, live shows and vibrant processions. Corporations predict numbers to go up additional subsequent yr contemplating Thailand’s rising reputation, price range pleasant airfares, and simple entry necessities.
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