Travel queries grew by 53% during Feb-Apr: Google

Andaman and Nicobar Islands saw a boom in popularity with 39.8% growth, the survey said

With the ongoing summer break, Google India on Wednesday revealed that the overall travel-related queries went up by 53 per cent during February-April, compared to the same period last year.

Overall travel-related queries including planning, transport, accommodation, vacation packages and travel documentation witnessed a 53 per cent year-on-year growth (February-April), Google Search Trends revealed in a survey.

The surge in vacation queries began in February, indicating that more number of Indians are now planning for summer holidays earlier in the year, it added.

The travel search trends are based on searches conducted by Indians between the months of February to April this year.

With increasingly affordable travel and stay options, interest in holiday travel is consistently growing beyond the metros as there was 70 per cent growth in travel queries from non-metro cities over the past year, it said.

Google search data also showed that 40.80 per cent of all travel-related queries were emerging from cities and towns beyond Delhi-National Capital Region (NCR), Mumbai, Bengaluru, Chennai, Pune, Hyderabad, Kolkata and Ahmedabad.

The growing use of mobile devices has made it more flexible for travellers to research, plan their itinerary and choose their favourite destination from anywhere and at any time, it said.

The survey also revealed that this year there was a growing interest in 'Alternate Stays', which surged by 111 per cent from last year.

Further, 'destination activities' also witnessed 102 per cent growth, it added.

Within India, while Goa continued to be the most preferred destination, hill stations like Manali and Shimla in Himachal Pradesh and Ooty in Tamil Nadu made it to the top 10 destinations list, it said.

This summer, Andaman and Nicobar Islands saw a boom in popularity with 39.8 per cent growth, said the survey.

It said, among international destinations, the US continued to be the most preferred followed by UAE and Thailand.

Interestingly, the survey found that, among the countries that have witnessed high growth are Nepal (64.8 per cent), Indonesia (42.1 per cent) and Bhutan (40.8 per cent).

In terms of mode of travel, rail services emerged as the most searched witnessing a 56 per cent growth, it said.

The quantum of search queries for rail services was nearly twice as high as the combined searches for all other modes of travel including air, bus, taxi, and car rentals, the survey said.