Demand For Business Class To Splurging On Hotels — Indians Are Upping Their Travel Game

"Ladies and gentlemen, you are kindly requested to fasten your seatbelt, put your seat backs in the fully upright position... Cabin crew prepare for take off."

One knows the drill by rote, now more than ever. Indians taking national and international trips have increased by over 30%, according to a report by MakeMyTrip. The travel trends spread through destinations, spending patterns, and showcase increased wanderlust across the country.

What more? Indians are becoming more demanding in their travel preferences. The travel trends from June 2023 to May 2024 reveal preference for window seats among Indians being 44%. Moreover, 42% of the travellers who pre-opted in-flight meals chose vegetarian meals.

The dreamy destinations, UAE and Thailand held their place, accounting for 17% and 14% of searches, respectively. The US, Singapore and the UK closely follow on the list. Countries like Canada, Malaysia and Saudi Arabia also makes its way to the list of favourite destinations with 3-4% searches.

The trend of exploring new cities are also emerging according to the report as countries like Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Bhutan along with others have been searched nearly 89% more than last year.

Dubai remains the most searched city, accounting for a strong 15% of searches. Cities like Bangkok, Singapore and London also make the list.

Travelling in style is something Indians have not held back from, given the significant growth in the searches for business class. Destinations like the USA and UAE have the most searches for business class tickets, contributing nearly 17% and 15% of the total searches.

Hong Kong saw the most significant jump in searches for business class tickets. Sri Lanka and Japan rank second and third in this list as well.

These luxury spends did not end with a business class plane ticket, as massive spends are recorded for hotel bookings in these destinations.

Indians have paid Rs 2.5 lakhs on average for hotels in Dubai, according to the report. New York ranks first on the list of expensive cities where hotels were booked. London, Paris, and Amsterdam also hold their places on this list.

With 55% Indians travelling for leisure, shop till you drop mantra is real. More than half of the travellers who went to Dubai had gone for shopping and other luxury spends. Singapore, Zurich, Hongkong and Milan are also on the list.

The love for nightlife and parties are strong among travellers from West Bengal and Punjab. Bangkok tops the list of cities with buzzing nightlife followed closely by Pattaya and Kula Lumpur.

Travellers form South India loved exploring destinations with beaches while travellers from Maharashtra chased history, heritage and art. Paris and Hanoi tops the list for the heritage-rich cities.