How India travels during long weekends: Data

New Delhi: Traveling is an essential part of human growth and existence. India's only travel fintech brand, SanKash released data on travel trends for long weekends.

According to the data, 95% of bookings received by SanKash were from families with the remaining 5% for trips with friends. It further revealed that over 40% of the bookings came from West India, followed by 31% from South, 26% from North and 4% from Eastern India.

According to OYO’s consumer survey, 37% of travelers have a preference for mountains, 33% for beaches in India. 

Metro and tier 1 and 2 cities, namely Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, Chennai, Nagpur, Hyderabad and Pune, Kolkata, Kochi, and Jaipur are cities from where the majority of the bookings came from, according to the data.

The online travel aggregators (OTA) observed a 40-50% increase in advance air ticket bookings during long weekends, signifying travelers making prior long weekend travel plans to beat the rush.

Flights and trains are booked more than one month in advance, mostly due to cheaper rates and limited seats.

There is also a substantial rise in leisure travel, with a significant number of travelers opting for group and family trips over solo vacations.

Destinations like Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttrakhand, Sikkim and the North East are the leading preferred destinations among travelers, especially for multi-generational families, millennials and young professionals, couples and honeymooners.

The brand has also suggested tips to ensure before planning for long weekends: 

Advance Booking

Customers should book their travel plan well in advance to ensure getting good rates

Safety

Ensure while traveling, the aspect of safety is well covered. During long weekend holiday plans, there are a lot of people who like to travel and hence many places get too full. It's needed that wherever the booking is happening, mode of transport should be safe. Also, carry your important documents that can be produced wherever necessary.

Comfort

While booking your plan, it is necessary to consider “Comfort” as one of the preferences whilst traveling with family, kids and/ or friends. Comfort ensure a good travel experience.

SanKash facilitates online and offline travel operators to provide innovative payment plans to their customers. They enable travelers to spread the cost of their travel into digestible payments spread over a period of 3 to 24 months by partnering with leading travel merchants.