The growing YOLO (You Only Live Once) mindset, coupled with a desire for immersive outdoor experiences, is driving demand, primarily across age groups from 20 to 45 years.
With IndiGo cancelling over 1,000 flights on Friday owing to crew shortage as the second phase of the pilots flight duty and rest period norms kicked in, huge capacity was out of the market, leading to airfares tripling and quadrupling from over the normal range, a travel industry executive said.
Taking a serious note of the situation, the civil aviation ministry said it has invoked regulatory powers to ensure fair and reasonable fares across all affected routes.
'We expect inbound numbers in 2025 to come close to pre-pandemic levels -- if not fully match them -- by early 2026.'
'Tourists from long-haul markets such as the US, UK, and Western Europe are especially sensitive to such news, and short-term cancellations or postponements of planned trips can be expected.'
DGCA provided temporary relief to IndiGo, which is partially owned by Rahul Bhatia, by rolling back the night duty definition to 12 am-5 am from 12 am-6 am earlier, and allowing its pilots to do six night-landings from two earlier, besides other relaxations.
'The Pahalgam terror attacks and the conflict that followed were a big blow to local tourism.' 'And just when things were starting to go back to normal, the floods, caused by heavy rain, spoiled all chances of a bounce-back this season.'
'The upcoming long weekend has ignited strong travel intent, with robust bookings across leisure, spiritual and wellness destinations.'
Travellers are keen to explore traditional Indian arts and crafts like Madhubani painting in Bihar, pottery and weaving workshops in Rajasthan, or Kathakali and Kalaripayattu training in Kerala.
'Countries like Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos, and the Philippines have a 50 per cent increase in bookings.'
Destinations like Coorg, Munnar, the Western Ghats, and parts of the North East, are at their scenic best in the monsoon.
The primary drivers: Geopolitical disruptions inflating fuel and operational costs, and a surge in travel demand.
Air India has cancelled eight flights, including four international services, on Friday due to enhanced maintenance and operational reasons, the airline said.
'...than by the calendar.' Indian travellers are no longer restricting their getaways to summer or winter holidays.
Many travellers are now opting for domestic destinations like Goa, Kerala, Rajasthan, Lakshadweep, Himachal Pradesh, and the North East.
'The past few quarters have seen prohibitive fares for advance bookings, only to dip closer to departure.'
The diplomatic rift between India and Maldives, coupled with the suspension of flight bookings on one of India's major travel portals, has sent jitters down the spine of tour operators in the island nation. The Maldivian Association of Travel Agents and Tour Operators (MATATO), a forum for travel agents, has stressed that the Indian market is important to the success of tourism in Maldives.
Data reveals that India issued only 5,709 tourist visas during this year's January 1 to November 2 period, reflecting a staggering 91 per cent decrease compared to the entire year of 2022.
'Rather than visiting famous monuments, travellers now prefer "experiential activities" such as biking, trekking/hiking, camping, river rafting, yachting, parasailing and zip lining; safaris and jungle adventures; and wellness holidays to rejuvenate themselves.'
Indian and global airlines such as SpiceJet, Emirates, Virgin Atlantic among others too are marketing Covid-19 insurance products to attract passengers.
The tourism ministry has decided to impart Mandarin training to members of Indian Association of Tour Operators.
Travel companies are trying to address the concerns of those visiting Indonesia and surrounding coastal areas.
Major travel agents have threatened to stop selling domestic and international air tickets until airlines agreed to restore commissions that they had said they would scrap starting October 1, citing higher costs and slower growth.
Move aimed at forcing airlines to revoke decision to withdraw 5 per cent commission.
The hospitality and tourism sector is among the worst hit because of the pandemic, and is unlikely to recover any time soon as people continue to be cautious of going out in a crowded places.
The trickle has begun and could turn into a flood. At least 15 per cent of overseas visitors have cancelled their tour plans to India following terrorist attacks on key locations in Mumbai, tour operators said. The attacks claimed nearly 200 lives and injured more than 300.
Foreign tourists are postponing their India holiday and there have been some cancellations as well, with trips to the North-East seeing the most adverse impact.
V Thulasidas, Air India Chairman and Managing Director, has announced a bonanza package of 2,000 additional seats comprising seven additional flights from Kerala to destinations in the Gulf and Middle East.
Encouraged by the centre's 'open sky' policy and growth in air traffic in eastern India, two more private foreign airlines are likely to operate from Kolkata shortly after clearance.
International tourist arrivals in India is likely to grow by about 18 per cent this year to nearly three million, the national body of tour operators said on Tuesday.
'The impact of economic shocks on the labour markets is usually on the young who delay their entry in response to a fall in job opportunities,' says Mahesh Vyas.
The violence in the state last year reduced tourist inflow by 55% and revenue by 80%. Kasmiris hope the summer of 2017 will take them back to the highs of 2015. Sohini Das reports.
Malaysia Airlines flies to Delhi, Bangalore, Chennai, Mumbai, Hyderabad and Kochi.
Industry says though most pending issues have been deliberated upon by Tourism ministry, they are yet to be implemented
While the Taj remains popular amongst celebrity guests, many ordinary foreign visitors are skipping it
After the Kerala government declared the coronavirus outbreak as a 'state calamity', as the three positive cases were detected from Thrissur, Alapuzha and Kasaragod, tourism minister Kadakampally Surendran admitted that the sector had suffered a hit. The sector had aggressively launched promotional advertisements in the domestic and international markets after the floods to revive the sector. However, all the efforts took a beating, with mass cancellations of hotel bookings after the outbreak of the infection in the state was reported.
Indian traveller is no longer satisfied with a single annual vacation, but is increasingly demanding multiple holidays and festive breaks offer an ideal opportunity.
India will extend the visa-on-arrival facility to all countries except eight with effect from September. The countries not covered under this single-entry e-visa facility, meant for purposes other than paid employment and education with a one-month time limit, are Pakistan, Sudan, Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, Nigeria, Sri Lanka and Somalia. The facility is currently available to 11 countries, including New Zealand, Singapore, Luxembourg, Japan and Finland.
This optimism is triggered by the feel-good factor in the wake of the Sensex touching record-high levels last week and a slew of discount offers by airlines to boost travel demand.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances