Global travel platform Skyscanner has released its latest Horizons report, providing valuable insights into booking trends, destination preferences, and trending travel hotspots across the APAC regions for June to August 2024. The report reveals a significant shift in traveller behaviour, with a notable increase in booking windows compared to the previous year.
Travellers across the APAC region are displaying greater confidence by planning trips further ahead, marking a return to traditional seasonality in travel for 2024. Notably, there has been a 2 per cent rise in bookings made over 90 days in advance, with booking windows of two months or more constituting over a third of the demand in the APAC region.
Preference for Intra-Regional Travel
APAC travellers are showing a preference for intra-regional destinations, with a decline in trips to Europe compared to previous years. The region is witnessing a resurgence in seat capacity, prompting travellers to opt for short or medium-haul trips, including domestic travel, as a budget-conscious approach to manage costs effectively.
Shorter Trip Lengths and Popular Destinations
The report highlights that average trip lengths to popular destinations are either slightly down or remaining flat compared to the previous year across all regions. In APAC, well-known European and US cities continue to be top choices, with Athens experiencing a notable increase in trip length. Tokyo stands out as the only destination with a single-digit trip length among the trending places.
Emerging Trending Destinations
APAC travellers are exploring new and trending destinations, with notable increases in search volumes recorded for New Delhi, India, and Shanghai, China. Other trending destinations include Jeddah, Saudi Arabia; Dubrovnik, Croatia; and Victoria, Canada. Pangkalan Bun in Borneo, Indonesia, has seen an increase in average trip length, indicating growing interest in this unique destination.
Commenting on the insights, Zeynep Mutlu Bigalı, Head of Destination Partnerships at Skyscanner, said, “Our latest Horizon insights reveal a travel landscape that is both familiar and evolving. Travellers are seeking value and exploring options closer to home, while popular destinations continue to attract attention. Skyscanner anticipates sustained demand throughout the summer, especially in regions like North Asia.”
Skyscanner has experienced record travel demand in 2024, surpassing the global flights market and emerging as the fastest-growing metasearch platform in 2023. The company said it remains a strategic partner for leading brands, airlines, and DMOs, leveraging data intelligence to promote destinations, develop AI travel tools, and facilitate the launch of new routes based on traveller insights.
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As travel becomes an integral part of Indian lifestyles, Wowtickets.com, a UK-based flight booking platform recently launched in India, unveils insights into Indians’ favorite domestic destinations. Analysing data from 36 million travellers nationwide, Wowtickets.com sheds light on the top 15 travel destinations preferred by Indians, reflecting the nation’s diverse interests and rich cultural heritage.
Wowtickets.com conducted a search survey nationally to gather insights about the cities and routes that Indians love travelling in India and the results show that Goa, Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, and Srinagar are the top 5 destinations.
India’s passion for travel is evident, with bustling airports like Delhi and Mumbai ranking among the world’s busiest. With a thriving travel and tourism sector, India’s GDP growth has paved the way for enhanced infrastructure and transportation, catering to the evolving preferences of travellers seeking unique experiences.
Top destinations nationwide
Among the top 15 destinations, Goa emerges as the most sought-after destination, drawing travellers with its beaches and vibrant culture. Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, and Srinagar follow closely, catering to both leisure and professional travelers.
Regional preferences
Regional variations in travel preferences are apparent, with Mumbaikars favoring destinations like Goa and Delhi, while Delhiites show a penchant for Goa, Mumbai, and Bengaluru. Similarly, travellers from Bengaluru and Hyderabad exhibit preferences for key metropolitan cities and scenic locales.
Unique search patterns
Interestingly, travellers also explored unconventional routes, indicating a growing appetite for offbeat travel experiences. Searches from Lucknow to Gangtok, Mumbai to Leh, and Srinagar to Mumbai highlight the diverse interests of Indian travellers.
Dmitrijus Konovalovas, Director & CEO, Wowtickets.com, emphasises India’s burgeoning tourism sector, poised to become a key player in the global market. “The travel industry in India is experiencing rapid growth, poised to become a significant player in the global tourism market. Predictions indicate that by 2023, the global tourism market will reach a value of USD 16.9 trillion, with India’s tourism sector making substantial contributions. This is largely driven by the enthusiastic travel aspirations of India’s youth, who prioritize exploration and adventure. As Indians increasingly explore destinations within their own country, domestic tourism receives a significant boost, further fueling the nation’s tourism growth,” he said.
The campaign aims to instill aspiration among Indian travellers and establish a loyal customer base with travel agencies based on the total number of passengers booked within the specified timeline. Scheduled to run for four months, from February to June 2024, the campaign seeks to capitalise on the growing interest in travel to Kenya among Indian tourists.
According to a report from Crisil, the travel and tourism sector in India is projected to experience a growth rate of 12–14 per cent in the coming years. India’s GDP growth has helped the travel and tourism sector thrive due to advancements in infrastructure and transportation, catering to the evolving preferences of younger travellers who seek memorable and unique experiences. In 2023, experts anticipate that the travel and tourism industry will generate approximately USD 9.5 trillion in revenue. Furthermore, projections suggest that by 2030, the global tourism market will soar to USD 16.9 trillion, with an average annual growth rate of 5.4 per cent from 2022 to 2030. During this period, the Asia-Pacific region is poised to experience the most substantial growth compared to other regions.
The top 15 most searched Indian destinations that Mumbaikars want to travel nationally.
Goa, Delhi, Bengaluru, Srinagar, Chennai, Chandigarh, Kolkata, Jaipur, Lucknow, Varanasi, Kochi, Ahmedabad, Dehra Dun, Patna, and Hyderabad.
Total searches were 31.86 lakh.
- The top 15 most searched Indian destinations that Delhiites want to travel to nationally
Goa, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Srinagar, Pune, Patna, Kolkata, Leh, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Chennai, Guwahati, Bagdogra, Kochi, Bhubaneswar
Total searches were 35.09 lakh. - The top 15 destinations Bengaluru wants to travel nationally
Delhi, Mumbai, Goa, Kolkata, Pune, Lucknow, Patna, Ahmedabad, Ranchi, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Kochi, Bhubaneswar, Bagdogra, Guwahati
Total searches were 24.86 lakh. - The top 15 most searched Indian destinations that Hyderabadis want to travel to nationally
Delhi, Goa, Bengaluru, Mumbai, Kolkata, Jaipur, Kochi, Vishakhapatnam, Chennai, Tirupati, Varanasi, Srinagar, Ahmedabad, Coimbatore, Chandigarh.
Total searches were 10.98 lakh. - The top 15 destinations Chennai travelers searched nationally.
Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Port,Blair, Goa, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Coimbatore, Pune, Kochi, Guwahati, Madurai, Patna, Srinagar
Total searches were 90.5 lakh. - The top 15 destinations Kolkata travelers searched nationally.
Delhi, Bengaluru, Mumbai, Pune, Guwahati, Bagdogra, Port Blair, Goa, Hyderabad, Chennai, Srinagar, Ahmedabad, Agartala, Jaipur, Bhubaneswar
Total searches were 10.97 lakh.
Indians also searched for some strange locations where there were no direct flights or fewer flights available:
Lucknow to Gangtok, Lucknow to Puducherry, Mumbai to Leh, Pune to Goa, Srinagar to Mumbai and Delhi to Shirdi, Deoghar to Kochi, Lucknow to Imphal, Agra to Jaipur, Gaya to Chennai and Nasik to Varanasi
Total searches were 10.97 lakh.
In terms of overall tourist numbers, Indonesia welcomed a staggering 11.67 million visitors in 2023, almost double the number in 2022. Bali alone received 5.23 million visitors, accounting for nearly half of Indonesia’s total tourism arrivals. To boost arrivals from India, plans for Vistara direct flights from Bombay and strengthening Delhi departures are in the pipeline.
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As 2023 draws to a close, Skyscanner, the leading global travel marketplace, takes a moment to reflect on a year filled with exciting adventures and groundbreaking developments in the world of travel. Taking a retrospective look at the year 2023, Skyscanner highlighted the travel patterns and preferences of Indian travellers. From popular destinations to budget-friendly options and evolving features, here’s a breakdown of the insights gained from Skyscanner’s Year in Travel report.
Top Spots for Indian Travellers in 2023
Dubai secured its position as the most sought-after international destination for Indian travellers in 2023. Renowned for its modern extravagance, artificial islands, mega malls, and majestic skyscrapers, the city captivated Indian travellers with its gleaming charm.
Bangkok claimed the second spot among international destinations, offering a blend of bustling markets, ornate temples like Wat Pho, and vibrant nightlife along Khao San Road. The city’s energy and cultural richness resonated with Indian travellers throughout the year.
Cheapest Flights, Hotels & Car Hire of 2023?
Skyscanner data identified Jagdalpur in India as the cheapest flight destination, with an average return flight cost of just INR 3,035 in 2023. The trend also showed a rising preference for alternative, budget-friendly Indian cities that promise rich cultural experiences.
The data further revealed Nha Trang in Vietnam as the most economical city for a three-star hotel stay, offering picturesque coastal beauty and cultural heritage. For car rentals, Doha in Qatar emerged as the city with the cheapest offerings, with Indian travellers paying only INR 2,198/day on average.
Additionally, there was a notable 25 per cent increase in women travellers, showcasing a growing inclination towards solo female travel. The company reported a 60 per cent surge in travellers exploring the seven northeastern states, demonstrating a diverse range of travel preferences among users. There was also a 10 per cent increase in travellers below the age of 10 and a 12 per cent increase in those above 60.
Travel Trends and Insights
Mohit Joshi, Skyscanner’s Travel Trends and Destination Expert, commented on the emerging trends, stating, “Indians have embraced global exploration despite tightened budgets. The Travel Trends 2024 report indicates that the value of experiences and cultural exploration will be key considerations for Indian travellers in the coming year.”The report predicts Nice in France as a great-value destination in 2024, with airfares dropping significantly over the past 12 months. Additionally, it foresees Indian travellers heading abroad to attend live performances by their favorite artists, with a significant percentage expressing willingness to travel for short-haul and long-haul concerts.
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In view of the increasing tourism potential of the state of Uttar Pradesh in recent years, the Uttar Pradesh Government, headed by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, has stepped up preparations for the Maha Kumbh 2025.
According to Chief Minister Yogi’s vision, the Uttar Pradesh Tourism Department has invited applications through the Request for Proposal (RFP) medium from experienced and qualified service providers for the annual maintenance, updates, and enhancement of its official website, www.uptourism.gov.in.
The selected agency will streamline the department’s website, ensuring it is well-equipped with various technical features such as data encryption, search engine optimization (SEO), error-free user experience, and regular software updates.
The Uttar Pradesh government has enlisted the support of ornithologists and tour operators from the UK, US, The Netherlands, and Germany to promote ecotourism destinations globally. Prakhar Mishra, the director of tourism, urged foreign guests to assist in developing travel itineraries for global travellers and to share positive experiences to enhance tourism in the state.
Additionally, the Tourism Department has commenced the application process for various sectors of the Tent City to be set up during the Prayagraj Maha Kumbh.The website of the Uttar Pradesh Tourism Department functions as a central hub for information and resources related to tourism in the state.
The website has been designed to provide a wide range of information and services to both tourists and stakeholders interested in the promotion and development of tourism in the state.
For the annual maintenance of the web portal, the agency will be engaged through a 3-year contract, which will enhance the website’s performance, management, and security and optimise its features.
The website is already hosted on the State Data Center, and during maintenance, it will continue to be hosted on the same platform.
The annual maintenance process carried out by the agency will be quite effective in ensuring a smooth and seamless user experience on the website related to the latest developments and tourist attractions in the state.
This includes addressing technical issues, updating and downloading text, photos, and videos on the website, as well as continuous monitoring and resolution of broken links and website errors.
GM Airport Authority, Rajeev Kulshrestha, said that the runway and parking are completely ready and the building work is in the final stage. “Beautification work is going on. The DGCA team has gone for an inspection. The flights will hopefully start soon. This entire airport is being built on the basis of the design of the temple of Lord Shri Ram,” said Kulshrestha.
Additionally, the agency will focus on regular software updates, security patches, and performance optimisation to enhance the speed and accessibility of the website. The process of continuous improvement in the website’s user interface (UI) and user experience (UX) will be expedited for easy navigation, intuitive design, and consistent responsiveness on all devices.
The implementation of best practises for on-page and off-page SEO to increase the website’s visibility on search engines, making online booking and reservation processes error-free, and enhancing security encryption, including the application of Secure Socket Layer (SSL) in the security assessment process, will also be undertaken to improve security.
The Tourism Department has started preparations for the Maha Kumbh scheduled to be held on the Sangam banks in Prayagraj in the year 2025. In this regard, the Uttar Pradesh Tourism Department has invited applications through e-tender for setting up tents in the Tent City to be established during the Maha Kumbh.
Currently, applications have been invited for a total of nine types of tenders, including Block F-1, F-2, F-3, F-5, E-1, E-2, E-3, E-4, and E-5, for the development of tent sites. Agencies selected from these tenders will be responsible for constructing and managing Tent City with various facilities in different blocks.
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Digitisation has prevailed in the industry for quite some time in the form of online booking of flights and accommodations. However, the operations and administration across the industry still remained largely manual.
Things took a dramatic turn when the pandemic struck and the industry experienced a complete upheaval. Travel came to a complete standstill with no certainty of resumption. Several travellers were affected as they were stranded in foreign lands and were unable to return home, while numerous booked travel plans had to be changed and rescheduled due to extended lockdowns. The travel industry was in total chaos, inept in handling such a situation. The primary priority was to get the stranded passengers back home.
Big data analytics came in as a major force of orderliness in this labyrinth of confusion. Travel companies ubiquitously adopted digitisation to create a seamless network among travel companies, sieve the data of stranded passengers, match them with available transport and safely get them back home. This brought in the next level of challenge of quarantining foreign return passengers in various hotels, providing them with medical facilities and ensuring that the infection is contained and the staff is not affected.
The future of airport lounges promises to be a remarkable travel experience, where every aspect is catered to ensure passenger comfort and satisfaction. As technology advances and customer expectations evolve you should therefore prepared to be amazed by the potential of transformational technology the next time you enter an airport lounge.
This is where AI-enabled digital solutions came into action where each passenger was monitored remotely and their needs were catered to with minimal human interaction. According to the UNWTO survey, international travel plunged by 72% in 2020, the worst year for tourism. The international tourism recovered only 63% of pre-pandemic levels by 2022 and expects a better recovery in 2023.
However, this entire period enabled the travel industry to experience, experiment and embrace digitisation in toto. The pandemic period was leveraged to acclimatise the workforce with new skills and training, build processes, add efficiencies and keep the industry and customers informed about the ever-changing global rules.
Today, digitisation is the only way forward for the travel industry to reinvent itself. Some of the areas where digitisation has transformed the functioning of the industry are:
Being future-ready: One of the primary forces guiding the tourism industry is to be future-ready for any kind of catastrophe or calamity and devise a swift, digitally-enabled recovery plan. The AI-generated data enables travel companies to predict the possibility of things going haywire and create travel plans in accordance to avert such situations. Most travel companies and airlines today heavily depend on data science to compile weather forecasts, fuel forecasts, etc to achieve efficiency in their plans.
Marketing maneuvers: Digitisation plays a big role in keeping travel agencies ahead of their competition by creating the right marketing strategies, offering competitive prices and packages and providing personalised and targeted marketing plans to its customer base.
Yatra Online Co-Founder & CEO highlighted the low marginal cost of selling additional products once the platform is in place, with a focus on a deeper and wider product portfolio. This includes cross-selling of services such as insurance, attractions, and car rentals. Shringi underlined the importance of both technology-enabled and manually interfaced products in this evolution.
With customer data analytics, Big data offers an advanced method to churn out pricing and demand analysis, based on market dynamics and competitor pricing in a click of a button. This helps travel companies and airlines to build statistical and predictive modeling to ensure that customers get the best value at the best price.
Contactless Travel: Post-pandemic, most customers prefer contactless interaction. Thus, travel agencies and airline companies have leveraged automation across the industry right from automated check-ins at hotels and airports, self-service kiosks, biometric solutions for identity verifications and medical screenings to AI-enabled hospitality services.
AI-enabled robot workforce: Globally, AI-enabled robots are fast replacing human workforce to pave the way for a futuristic hospitality experience. Enabled with speech recognition, face recognition, voice recognition and collision-free capabilities, these robots provide front desk services, check-in/check-out services and also double up as robot cleaners, concierge and room service assistants.
This not only limits physical contact but also bolsters efficiency in the industry. Furthermore, these AI and ML-enabled humanoids also enhance the customer experience by assessing each customer’s unique requirements.
Backend digitised support: Travel companies have experienced a significant shift in the realm of document storage. The tourism and hospitality industry generates a huge amount of documents that need to be stored for a considerable duration. Digitisation has completely replaced the need for physical documentation by storing it on the cloud and also analysing the data to generate meaningful results that companies can utilize to understand their customers better and optimize their business.
Today, Big data is being leveraged by the tourism industry in every possible way. According to an analysis conducted by Global Data, the AI market which was valued at USD 81.3 billion in 2022, is expected to grow at the rate of 35% by 2030. These tools are being incorporated into devices, business applications and productivity tools for seamless business operations.
Digitisation, armed with Big data, AI and ML, has given the travel industry a new and futuristic dimension. This is the best time to fully unleash the power of digitisation and amalgamate it with the potential of the travel industry.
The author is Director, Brightsun Travel.
DISCLAIMER: The views expressed are solely of the author and ETTravelWorld.com does not necessarily subscribe to it. ETTravelWorld.com shall not be responsible for any damage caused to any person/organisation directly or indirectly.
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Domestic airlines reported 406 instances of aircraft malfunctioning in the first 11 months of this year, according to the government. Minister of State for Civil Aviation VK Singh shared the data in a written reply to the Rajya Sabha on December 11.
From January to November 2023, IndiGo reported 233 instances of aircraft malfunctioning, while SpiceJet reported 44 such cases.
Air India reported 52 instances of malfunctioning of aircraft, followed by the now-grounded Go First (22), Akasa Air (20), AirAsia (India) Ltd (15), Vistara (13), Fly Big (5) and BlueDart Aviation (2).
In 2022, these airlines had reported 542 instances of malfunctioning of aircraft.
“Safety and security is the priority of our ministry. For security, our institute BCAS (Bureau of Civil Aviation Security) keeps a keen watch on all airports and for safety DGCA issues CAR (Civil Aviation Rule) so that the safety of the passengers is kept in mind. Whenever any airline or airport is found guilty, a penalty is imposed on them by the ministry,’ the minister said speaking in Hindi.
“Technical snags in aircraft are caused due to improper function/malfunction of components/accessories fitted on the aircraft,” the minister said. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has laid down regulations under Civil Aviation Requirement (CAR), which requires that the aircraft is maintained in accordance with the manufacturer and DGCA guidelines, and all snags reported on the aircraft are rectified before it is released for flight, he added.
In a separate written reply, Singh said there was no shortage of pilots in the country.
“Currently, there are 34 Flying Training Organisations (FTOs) in the country operating at 55 bases, which are imparting flying training to cadets. In the current year 2023 (till October), a total of 1,371 Commercial Pilot Licences (CPLs) have been issued so far and the trend indicates a sharp increase in the number of CPLs issued in comparison to previous years,” the minister noted.
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