Rajesh Magow

Co-Founder and Group CEO, MakeMyTrip

“The trend of Indian travellers capitalizing on opportunities to plan short trips throughout the year continues.

For the Independence Day weekend this year, we have seen a 30% uptick in individuals booking flights within seven days of the scheduled departure as compared to the same weekend in 2022. This means the travellers are looking beyond price and tariff considerations when planning for their short breaks. This is further bolstered by a 22% increase in bookings for premium and luxury properties for the duration compared to the same period last year. This also points to the propensity towards rest and relaxation as the primary trigger for the upcoming Independence Day weekend. As of date, bookings for homestays and villas for this weekend have also doubled as compared to last year.

The top domestic destinations for people booking flights from Delhi, Mumbai, and Bangalore are Goa and Srinagar, while people from southern metros like Bangalore and Hyderabad have demonstrated a preference for Cochin, Vishakhapatnam, and Coimbatore. Per data on the platform, the top destinations, barring metros, from a hotel reservation point of view, include Goa, Udaipur, Jaipur, Wayanad, Puri, Ooty, Coorg, Pondicherry, Mahabaleshwar, Munnar, and Varanasi.

For our packages product, we have observed an increased salience for international destinations, likely supported by a longer window, with August 15 coming on a Tuesday compared to Monday last year. Thailand, Europe, Bali, Dubai, Maldives, and Singapore top the international destination list.”