With normalcy gradually returning to everyday lives, young Indians are looking forward to reward and celebrate their enduring spirit by treating themselves a bit like royals at some of the culturally rich destinations across the country.
As per a recent market and on-platform study conducted by Goibibo, 50% travellers opted to explore and indulge in the unmatched cultural experiences in Agra, Jaipur, Jodhpur, Mysore, Udaipur and Gwalior. Amongst these, Jaipur was the most travelled to city with 24% travellers choosing a quick weekend getaway to the city of forts and Rajputana charm.
The study further indicates that 35% of the travellers chose to holiday at beach or riverside properties in Goa, Pondicherry, Rishikesh, and Daman & Diu; and the rest travelled to enjoy the highlands of Manali, Shimla, Darjeeling, Lonavala, Srinagar, Coorg etc.
Bookings on goibibo indicate that premium accommodation category has seen nearly 150% increase in bookings when compared to bookings made in Februrary 2020 – further indicating that the appetite to splurge on premium and luxurious stays has increased exponentially amongst the young post the pandemic. Inching close, the mid-segment has seen a jump of 64% in comparison to pre-COVID days. What’s also interesting to note is that 90% of the bookings at mid to luxury properties were made for weekend getaways and short-haul trips.
Commenting on the insights, Sunil Suresh, Chief Marketing Officer at Goibibo shared, “Hills and beach holidays have been a preninneal favourite of all however, it’s interesting to see that post the pandemic, one in every two young Indian opted to travel to a culturally rich destination to experience royalty and country’s rich cultural heritage. This appetite was further supported by availability of various value-adds and hotel booking offers available on platforms like ours – that made the deal of holidaying at luxurious, royal stays more lucrative and within budget. As the winter holiday season approaches we are confident of seeing a consistent month-on-month surge in bookings to all travel landscapes –be it, hills, beaches or culturally rich destinations.”