National, 16 August 2024: As India celebrated its Independence Day, the long weekend led to a surge in bus bookings across the country. AbhiBus, one of India’s leading bus booking platforms, reported a 54% YoY increase in bookings, highlighting how travellers took advantage of the extended break. 

Top Leisure Destinations 

Over the weekend, several leisure destinations saw a rise in bookings. Pondicherry recorded over 200% boost, Dehradun experienced a 184% increase, Manali, a popular hill station, reported an uptick of over 170% in bus bookings, and Goa saw a 44% rise. 

 Spiritual Travel Surge

Alongside leisure travel, spiritual hotspots also saw a notable surge in bookings during the long weekend as travellers took the opportunity to visit religious and wellness destinations. This trend saw an average of over 100-300% increase in bookings to key places where Ayodhya, Banaras (Varanasi), Tirupati, and Rishikesh topped the charts. 

Female and Solo Travellers Leading the Trend

The long weekend is also seeing a rise in the number of female travellers, with bookings from women increasing by 50%. Even more noteworthy is the 37% uptick in female solo travellers. Overall, solo travel also saw an increase of 38%, contributing to the overall surge in travel bookings. 

“It is exciting to see how Indians are actively choosing buses as their mode of travel, specifically for the long weekend. The growing interest in popular leisure destinations like Goa, Manali, and Pondicherry, alongside spiritual hubs like Ayodhya, Banaras, and Tirupati, highlights a diverse trend where Indians are exploring adventure and spirituality with equal enthusiasm.”

Rohit Sharma, COO, AbhiBus,

About AbhiBus

AbhiBus is a leading online bus-ticketing platform that aggregates over 3,500+ private bus operators and 25 leading State RTCs, covering more than 100,000+ routes across the country. The AbhiBus website and apps allow users to check amenities provided by bus operators, compare booking fares, check bus timings in the searched route, live tracking of the bus before arrival, cancellation protection options and other facilities. It is the official ticketing partner for several state road transport corporation bus tickets and IRCTC tickets. Apart from an e-ticketing platform, AbhiBus also provides an end-to-end technology solution to private and government bus operators. It provides a state of the art online passenger reservation system to more than 350 private bus operators and 5 State Road Transport Corporations, including APSRTC, TSRTC, KSRTC, HRTC (Himachal) and Kerala RTC across India. Its software solutions include fleet management solutions, vehicle tracking systems, passenger information systems, and logistics, providing a robust and customizable software solution to small and big size bus operators. The business of AbhiBus was acquired by ixigo (Le Travenues Technology Limited) in August 2021. 

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