By Rohan Das
Copyright thehindubusinessline
Early bookings, experience-led journeys, cultural getaways and bundled packages are the key trends in this year’s festival season travel surge. Data from online travel companies indicate a strong travel demand, with bookings significantly outpacing previous years.
The uptick is being fuelled by a popularity for bundled deals, while demand from Tier 2 cities is also growing at a faster rate.
Rikant Pittie, CEO and Co-Founder, EaseMyTrip, told businessline that this year the company has seen around 30-35 per cent surge in festival travel bookings, both in terms of domestic and international travel.
He added that out of the bookings, around 50 per cent are young travellers looking to explore local culture and a shift towards long-haul stays.
Hari Ganapathy, co-founder, Pickyourtrail, finds that customers are now prioritising early bookings and seeking more experience-led journeys. “Travellers are planning 2-4 months in advance with a clear preference for premium, multi-city itineraries and special customisations rather than last-minute deals,” he added.
Uptick in fares
According to Pickyourtrail, bookings this year have gone up 15-20 per cent y-o-y primarily fuelled by festivals, weddings and winter holidays. Early bookings, says Ganapathy, were up 8 per cent, indicating that customers are prioritising certainty over just waiting for discounts.
Pittie noted that higher occupancies are pushing travellers to secure advance bookings. The increased demand has also caused an uptick in airfare prices.
Aloke Bajpai, Group CEO, Ixigo, said advance airfares to major metros increased 20-25 per cent compared to last year. According to data shared by Ixigo, the Mumbai-Patna route saw the highest increase in air fare of 52 per cent, while Bengaluru-Lucknow and Mumbai-Kolkata followed behind with 27 per cent each.
Train bookings for popular routes have also gone by 18-25 per cent, Ixigo added.
Beyond Metros
Travel appetite is particularly high in Tier 2 and smaller cities. Ganapathy says that while metros remain the largest contributors, Pickyourtrail has seen bookings from Tier 2 cities such as Coimbatore, Kochi and Jaipur growing at a faster rate, recording nearly 10 per cent higher y-o-y growth.
Echoing this, Pittie says growth from metro cities has moderated, while emerging cities such asLucknow, Indore, Bhopal are seeing sharper increases in bookings.
OTAs are also seeing traction for package deals that bundle travel, stay and activities. Puttur says that package bookings have risen over 80 per cent in recent quarters. Ganapathy says packages remove the friction of coordinating multiple bookings, ensuring an end-to-end experience.
Published on September 15, 2025
