With the onset of the winter holiday season, Indians are planning away their next travels — particularly to international destinations. Abu Dhabi has seen the most increase in bookings as travellers look towards more experience-rich destinations, according to Ixigo and AbhiBus' Flight & Bus Year-End Data Trends 2024 report.
The widening love for wanderlust and vacations is apparent with the number of international trips taken by Indians climbing over 150%, as per the report.
Bookings to Abu Dhabi surged 174% from the time period of Dec. 20, 2024 to Jan. 2, 2025. This was closely followed by Phuket, which saw a 168% increase in bookings when compared to last years.
Bangkok, the bustling capital of Thailand, was a destination that saw 166% increase in bookings. Vietnam remained popular as well, with over 102% jump in bookings.
The dreaminess of Bali with its turquoise waters and beautiful beaches continued to be a crowd favourite, with bookings rising 96%. The elegant streets of London, with some of the widest arrays of offerings, have held their place in the list, seeing an 80% increase in bookings.
Singapore saw a 53% increase in bookings and remained an exciting destination for Indians. Habibis did go to Dubai, bumping up the bookings to the destinations to 48% this year.
"Destinations like Thailand, Vietnam, London, and Bali have emerged as the top picks for international travel this winter witnessing an 80-100% YoY growth in bookings," said Aloke Bajpai, chief executive officer of Ixigo.
Travellers are gravitating towards culturally rich cities offering a mix of diverse experiences—beaches, nightlife, and culture. Bajpai notes that it is for the first time that Maldives has not featured in the top 10 most-searched destinations for year-end travel. This displays the growing preference for more varied and immersive vacations over traditional hotspots.
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