Holi, Good Friday in same week spurs vacation plans

Bengaluru: The upcoming week with just four work-days between Holi on Monday and Good Friday, has Indians scouring the web for holiday destinations, not just within the country but also outside. Data collated from searches and bookings by multiple travel portals show that Goa is the hot pick in this search. Internationally, the Mediterranean and South East Asia are the top preferences.

"As we approach the long weekends of Holi and Good Friday, we’re seeing a significant uptick in leisure bookings. Goa remains the premier domestic flight destination, followed by Srinagar, Guwahati, Port Blair, and Bagdogra,” said Rajesh Magow, Co-founder and Group CEO, MakeMyTrip.

Magow said that while mid-category rooms remain the most booked, the share of premium bookings is higher than usual by close to 10% for the coming week.

As per Airbnb, data on its platform revealed that South Goa saw a staggering 330% increase in searches for the coming week among domestic destinations. 

For international tourists, the hotspots comprise the historic European cities of Athens, Rome and Istanbul, with a 400% increase in searches for the Greek capital.

“Additionally, the cultural allure of Varanasi, Jaipur, and Pondicherry as well as popular hill stations like Mussoorie, Ooty and Manali are also driving diversified interest for short getaways during the upcoming long weekend,” Airbnb said.

The homestay aggregator said that there was a 70% increase in bookings for non-urban destinations and 20% increase in family bookings.

“Hotel bookings for religious destinations such as Puri, Varanasi, and Amritsar have doubled since last year, emerging as the second most preferred category after beaches.  Similarly, in terms of flight bookings Amritsar, Prayagraj, and Bhubaneshwar show a growth of about 20% as compared to last year,” MakeMyTrip’s Magow said.

Meanwhile, travel portal Agoda’s data Dubai and Singapore were the most preferred international destinations.

“Thailand’s visa waiver policy likely helps it secure two of the top five most popular spots for travel with Bangkok number three and Phuket fifth.  Bali (Indonesia) is the fourth most popular international destination for the Holi and Good Friday break,” Agoda noted in its press statement.

Ixigo, meanwhile, said that it had seen a 46% year-on-year increase in flight searches for holi travel this year.