A lot of Indians are celebrating Diwali in Goa, Thailand, Dubai and more

• Oyo’s booking trends show that from 25th October to 31st October, 2019, people are heading to the land of beaches, Goa.
• Meanwhile, Zostel has seen a 32% increase in inbound foreign travelers along with a 28% increase solo female travellers.
• Travel booking platform Cleartrip has also received got bookings for international travel during the Diwali long weekend.

When it’s a long weekend, travel plans are sure to follow. And there are many who are away from home for Diwali celebrating its away from home.

That has increased the business for hotel aggregators and travel booking platforms.

Oyo’s booking trends show that from 25th October to 31st October, 2019, people are heading to the land of beaches, Goa, followed by Delhi and Bangalore. The company also said that most Delhiites have booked trips to Amritsar, Jaipur and Lucknow whereas Mumbaikars plan to visit Pune, Mahabaleshwar and Lonavala. People from Bangalore, on the other hand, are planning for Mysore, Ooty, Coorg, Mangalore, Kochi and Puducherry.

They are expecting more business from last minute plans as well.

“We are expecting the bookings to increase manifold with large traction coming in from last-minute bookings,” said Gaurav Ajmera, Chief Operating Officer, India & South Asia, OYO Hotels & Homes.

Another popular platform – Zostel which offers the hostel experience, too has seen a 70% hike in bookings from last Diwali. For the festive season in October, Zostel has received over 14,000 room night bookings with a total expected of 24,000.

Zostel saw a 32% increase in inbound foreign travelers, and 27% increase in solo travelers, 42% increase in female travelers along with a 28% increase in solo female travelers.

But it’s not just about short getaways, Indians also have long planned international vacations. According to booking platform Cleartrip, Indians have been booking for trips to Thailand, Istanbul, Dubai, Singapore and Malaysia.

“Among international travellers, we are seeing an emergence of the quest for new. Thailand bookings that are usually skewed in favour of Bangkok and Pattaya are seeing a shift towards Phuket. Another top emerging destination on the list of international travellers is Istanbul, which has made it among the top 10 destinations this festive season. The emergence of Phuket and Istanbul is also propelled by the new capacity added by Indian LCCs to those destinations,” said Balu Ramchandran, Senior Vice President – Cleartrip.