How India Travels Abroad report by MakeMyTrip

More and more Indians are travelling abroad for leisure and a large number are taking three trips abroad every year. There is 32 % increase in Indians going for two or more international trips a year with the UAE, Thailand and the US being the most popular destinations while Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan and Bhutan being the leading emerging destinations.

Travellers from Punjab and West Bengal prefer urban nightlife destinations Bangkok and Pattaya with almost 44 percent of travellers from West Bengal choosing Thailand as overseas destination. Travellers from Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal book the most extra baggage while those from Karnataka, Telangana, Maharashtra, Delhi and Haryana spend the most on premium hotel bookings.

These findings are a part of How India Travels Abroad report by online travel company MakeMyTrip and based on the searches and bookings on the platform from June 23-May 24.

One of the significant finding and indicator of Indians love for travelling is people taking three or more international trips have grown by an impressive 37%. Of all the trips abroad, almost 55 % Indians travelled abroad for leisure while 33% traveled to visit friends or families.

Dubai, Bangkok, Singapore and London are most popular cities that Indians love to travel to while Almaty and Baku are two most searched cities among emerging destinations. 

Thailand is the most popular destination for leisure trip. Search for homestays and villas has increased by 42%, almost 50% of hotel bookings were above Rs 7,000 a night, top three hotels booked on the platform were in Dubai at an average cost of Rs 2.5 lakhs a night while New York was the most expensive city to book hotels. Maharashtra, Karnataka and Delhi lead the charts for international destination searches while UP and Uttarakhand have shown the maximum search volume growth for international travel.

Travellers from Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Telangana prefer international beach destinations with Phuket and Bali being the most searched, those from Delhi, Haryana and UP searched the most for international mountain destinations while travellers from Maharashtra prefer travelling to countries with a vibrant history, heritage and art scene with Paris being the most searched.

Signalling a growing impulsive travel trend, the report shows close to 50% of international flights and 56% of international hotel rooms are booked less than 14 days before the travel date. Oman, Nepal and UAE had the highest last minute flight bookings, while Qatar, Oman and Azerbaijan saw the most last minute hotel bookings. European cities were among the ones booked well in advance.

Indians are searching more for business class airline tickets now than ever with Hong Kong route showing the fastest growth in business class travel search. 42% of travellers pre booked veg meals. Maharashtra followed by Delhi had the most orders of Jain meals aboard. Window seats are the most preferred seating option with travellers from Andhra Pradesh and Kerala booking the most while those from Delhi and Haryana booked the most aisle seats on MakeMyTrip. Travellers from Madhya Pradesh and Odisha booked the most middle seats on plane.

Many Indians are opting for price safety in air tickets with flights to Japan, Europe, the US having max share of zero cancellation flight bookings. Europe, the UAE, Singapore, and USA, saw the highest share of travellers opting for a feature on the platform Visa Rejection Full Refund.

The report states there was no off season last year as Indians searched and booked trips through the year. England, Australia and Germany were the most travelled student destinations with maximum students travelling from Maharashtra, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.