Goa top summer holiday destination, search for Srinagar rises: MMT report

Puri and Varanasi have emerged as the most sought-after pilgrimage destinations, with a noticeable surge in interest noted for Ayodhya, according to MakeMyTrip's report

Goa is Indian travellers' most popular destination in summers and Udaipur and Srinagar had the highest growth in internet search volumes compared to the same period last year, said MakeMyTrip (MMT) on Wednesday.

The online travel company’s latest report identified the top destinations that have got travellers' interest for the summer of 2024.

MMT's trending domestic destinations

The top 20 domestic destinations that together account for 45 per cent of online searches between March and April FY24, include:

1. Goa  

2. Delhi  

3. Mumbai  

4. Bangalore  

5. Ooty  

6. Hyderabad  

7. Kolkata  

8. Chennai  

9. Rishikesh  

10. Jaipur  

11. Pune  

12. Manali  

13. Lonavala  

14. Udaipur  

15. Mussoorie  

16. Munnar  

17. Gurgaon  

18. Puri  

19. Srinagar  

20. Varanasi  

Puri and Varanasi were the most sought-after pilgrimage destinations, while Ayodhya maintained consistent growth.

Other emerging domestic destinations registering the high growth in searches compared to last year include Lakshadweep, Nandi Hills, Chalakudy, Chevella, Omkareshwar, Marayoor, Jibhi, Chakrata, Sonmarg, Ganpatipule, Purulia, Khatu, Dwarka, and Thiruvannamalai.

International travel trends 

As much as 64 per cent of all international searches were about 20 destinations, largely mirroring last year’s list:

1. Dubai  

2. Bangkok  

3. Singapore  

4. Bali  

5. Kathmandu  

6. Kuala Lumpur  

7. Toronto  

8. Phuket  

9. Doha  

10. Abu Dhabi  

11. London  

12. Colombo  

13. Sharjah  

14. New York  

15. Jeddah  

16. Baku  

17. Ho Chi Minh City  

18. Muscat  

19. Hong Kong  

20. Riyadh  

Baku, Almaty, and Nagoya have seen significant growth in searches. Although not on the top 20 list, destinations like Luxembourg, Langkawi, and Antalya are also garnering increasing travellers’ interest.

Travel segments and accommodation trends

The family travel segment grown by 20 per cent compared to summer of 2023. Solo travel increased by 10 per cent, said the MMT report.

For accommodation preferences, homestays and villas with tariffs of Rs 2,500-7,000 per night continue to comprise 45 per cent of all bookings.

Higher-priced properties over Rs 20,000 per night are gaining popularity as well.

For hotels, the Rs 2,500-7,000 per night tariff remains the preferred range, while properties with a Rs 10,000-15,000 per night tariff have seen the highest growth, indicating a trend toward premiumisation.

"Summer is always one of the biggest quarters of the year in terms of travel intent, and this year too, the buoyancy in the sector continues. We are observing a healthy growth in searches over those recorded last year at this time," said Rajesh Magow, co-founder and group chief executive officer of MakeMyTrip.

"India is a large country, and summer leisure travel begins with the southern region where the holiday season arrives early, followed by the west, and then finally the north. We haven’t observed any change in trend this year as well," he said.

Magow said that traffic on redbus.in, a ticketing website, has surged as people travel to their hometowns to cast votes in Lok Sabha elections.