Airfares have increased since last year. Middle East routes have also seen a 40-50 per cent increase in airfares compared to last year With the mercury rising and school holidays on the horizon, more and more people are planning their summer break. As per travel OTAs (over-the-air) across the country, Indians' love for travel has not ebbed in spite of rising airfares.
“International and domestic travel is in demand for summer this year. Airfares are higher than pre-Covid levels with international fares on some routes going as high as 60-70 per cent, but this has not deterred the overall travel sentiment. People are willing to spend more on flights and hotels. International destinations like Dubai, London, Maldives, the US and Australia have seen a rise in travel search queries for summer travel. The overall demand is more than the supply and this mismatch is causing airfares to rise,” says Aloke Bajpai, Group CEO & co-founder, ixigo.
Round-trip airfares from India to European cities such as Rome and Paris were around Rs 50,000-60,000 last year. This year the same fares are costing Rs 80,000-90,000 for a round-trip journey. Middle East routes such as New Delhi-Dubai and Bangalore-Dubai have also seen a 40-50 per cent increase in airfares compared to last year. A round trip fare from New Delhi to Dubai was approximately Rs 24,000 last year and is around Rs 35,000-40,000 this year.
Talking about some of the top searched destinations on its platform, Rajesh Magow, co-founder and Group CEO, MakeMyTrip says, “On the international front, while long-haul destinations, including Europe, are generating a lot of interest, short-haul destinations such as Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, Maldives, and UAE make it to the top five.”
He adds that in India, Goa, Kochi, Srinagar, Dehradun, and Leh are the most sought-after domestic flight destinations. “From an accommodation lens, the top ten most booked destinations remain consistent, led by Goa. Leading metropolitan cities, such as Delhi, Bangalore, Mumbai, Hyderabad, and Chennai, take the next five slots. Jaipur, followed by Kolkata and Pune, complete the top ten list. We have also seen strong traction for pilgrimage destinations such as Puri, Varanasi, Rishikesh, and Vrindavan and hill destinations such as Ooty and Darjeeling,” says Magow.
Indians also prefer more relaxed itineraries with the average room night per booking for April -June quarter increasing for domestic and outbound holiday packages.
“The average nights booked for outbound packages for the summer quarter is 27 per cent higher than last year's corresponding period; and almost 85 per cent higher than the pre-pandemic average. In domestic packages, too, we have seen a 54 per cent increase in average room nights booked this year over the corresponding period in 2019. The preference for relaxed itineraries has positively impacted average per-passenger spend. Travellers are seeking experience-led travel, resulting in more bookings with pre-booked activities,” says Magow.