Gourmet walking tours and multi-generation travel will rule 2019

HYDERABAD: 2018 saw an 18% upsurge in overseas travel booking from Hyderabad, whereas the demand domestic holidays has gone up by 20%, according to Peter Kerkar, Group CEO, Cox & Kings, who shares the company’s perspective on trends that will define travel in 2019.  “Until a few years back, the travel scenario in Hyderabad was mainly dominated by family travellers. However, the picture has been changing drastically since the past couple of years, including the last year wherein a large segment of individual travellers is emerging from Hyderabad and the surrounding regions. This segment focuses more on immersive experiences and aspire to explore beyond the regular group tours and sightseeing. As a result, the demand for special interest journeys like adventure, culinary, self-drive and luxury has been growing significantly from Hyderabad.”

Besides, the number of women taking up travel has increased by 10% in the last year which includes group as well as independent women travellers. Single women travellers mainly prefer travelling in all-women group departures, he added. Due to the hi-tech city and more number of companies shifting their base to Hyderabad, Bleisure (Business + Leisure) travel is also on rise. This year the demand for Bleisure has gone up by 8% as compared to the previous year, adds Peter.  

What are the Hyderabadis’ favourite Indian destinations? He says, “Andaman, Rajasthan, Goa, Manali, Kashmir and Sikkim-Darjeeling have been the top picks of 2018. For international vacations, Europe has become round-the-year destination owing to the improved flight connectivity to London (UK), Frankfurt (Germany) and other European destinations. Thailand, Singapore, Hong Kong, Dubai and Maldives are the choicest destinations for short-haul vacations.

The Cox & Kings Group CEO says that passionate travellers better start planning early this year. He says, “2019 will have only 10 long weekends as compared to 2018 which had 16 long weekends.  April and August are the two opportune months in 2019 wherein you can plan long domestic or international vacations. For example, you can plan 6-9 days long international trip in the period April 13- 21 by taking only 2-3 days leaves in between the official holidays of Ambedkar Jayanti, Mahavir Jayanti and Good Friday. Similarly, Aug 10-18 is also ideal period to plan a vacation with official holidays such as Bakri-id and Independence Day.