Travel industry shifts towards offbeat adventures; affordable travel played key role

Mumbai, Dec 26 (PTI) The tourism industry witnessed a significant shift towards offbeat adventures, thanks to improved infrastructure and better visa regulations that made travel more accessible, convenient and exciting for everyone, industry players said.

In 2024, Southeast Asian destinations have emerged as travellers’ top choices and affordable travel and payment innovations played a significant role in driving growth this year.

According to a Cleartrip report, affordable travel options saw a doubling in adoption by Gen Z and Senior Citizens, reflecting the increasing inclusivity of travel offerings. Moreover, flexible travel payment options gained significant traction, with a 1.4 times higher adoption rate among Gen Z.

“With relaxed visa and travel policies, Southeast Asian destinations have emerged as travellers’ top choices. This year also marked a rise in the adoption of affordable travel options, particularly among GenZ and Senior Citizens, and an increase in flexible travel payment methods,” Cleartrip Chief Business and Growth Officer Anuj Rathi to PTI.

Southeast Asia continues to dominate as a favoured travel destination, driven largely by visa-free policies that simplify international travel, the report said.

Notably, bookings to Denpasar (Bali) surged by 73 per cent compared to 2023, attributed to the launch of direct flights from Bengaluru to Bali by Indigo, making the destination more accessible to Indian travellers.

Other international destinations also witnessed significant growth, including Tbilisi (27 per cent), Tashkent (100 per cent), Almaty (73 per cent), Da Nang (60 per cent), and Baku (133 per cent), it added.

Domestically, beach and island destinations emerged as new favourites in 2024.

Bookings to Agatti Island in Lakshadweep rose by 94 per cent, while Diu experienced a staggering 130 per cent growth, which were supported by the launch of direct flights, with Indigo connecting Bengaluru to Agatti and FLY91 linking Goa to Diu.

Meanwhile, data by Booking.com found that travel in 2024 was an interesting mix of exploring both local and global destinations.

Goa emerged as the top searched destination in 2024 experiencing a 200 per cent increase in flight searches year-over-year.

Indian travellers also embraced cultural and spiritual exploration with Amritsar, for instance witnessing a 106 per cent increase in searches compared to 2023.

Globally popular destinations like Abu Dhabi, Kuala Lumpur, Melbourne, London and Bangkok remained popular choices with flight searches reflecting a y-o-y surge of 90-150 per cent, it added.

With ease of travel, offbeat destinations that were earlier not on the traveller’s radar emerged as popular choices like Shahdag in Azerbaijan emerging as the top searched international destination based on accommodation searches in 2024.

With Indian travellers seeking new experiences, unexplored international destinations like Stepantsminda (212 per cent), Baku (203 per cent) and Tromso (185 per cent) also emerged as popular choices, the global digital travel company stated.

Domestically travellers sought authentic experiences with destinations such as Perumbakkam, Pangala and Tekkumuri gaining popularity, it added.

In 2024, top searched attractions on Booking.com included iconic Indian experiences like the private car tour of the Taj Mahal from Delhi and the Old Delhi food and heritage walk.

With sustainable travel on the rise, e-biking experience on the island of Divar in old Goa was also among the top 3 of most searched attractions in 2024.

“With the popularity of destinations like Shahdag and Baku in Azerbaijan or Gudauri in Georgia rising, we see a shift towards offbeat adventures. Improved connectivity, infrastructure and better visa regulations are making travel more accessible, convenient and exciting for everyone,” Booking.com Country Manager for India, Sri Lanka, Maldives and Indonesia Santosh Kumar added.