The festive season has experienced a surge in travel demand up to 18% year-on-year in 2025, with outbound bookings rising to 24%, as per Thrillophilia’s Festive Travel Pulse 2025. But the real story lies in how Indians are travelling, opting for compact, high-value “smart luxury” escapes over long intercontinental holidays.
International demand
More than 70% of international demand is now flowing to short-haul Asia-Pacific hubs. The UAE continues to dominate, with Dubai alone accounting for 16% of outbound bookings and Abu Dhabi another 6–7%. Thailand is at 15%, Singapore at 14%, Vietnam at 10%, Bali at 8%, and a resurgent Hong Kong at +25% YoY, to round out the top picks.
“This festive season, Indian travellers are redefining holidays as curated, meaningful escapes. Short-haul hubs are winning on time and convenience, while offbeat India is quietly rising as a crowd-free alternative,” Abhishek Daga, Co-founder of Thrillophilia, said. “Above all, the shift towards ‘smart luxury’—better stays and experiences without overspending—captures the spirit of how India is travelling in 2025,” he added.
The “smart luxury” shift is reflected in rising demand for boutique hotels, branded stays, and high-impact activities such as sundowner desert safaris in Dubai, bay cruises in Singapore, and skip-the-line city passes across APAC. The average spending now stands at Rs 25,000– Rs 45,000 per person for domestic holidays and Rs 60,000– Rs 95,000 for short-haul international breaks. Bookings are typically made 9–12 days in advance, the report added.
Intra travel
Within India, the Rajasthan circuit of Jaipur–Udaipur–Jaisalmer at 16% remains the biggest draw, followed by Himachal and Uttarakhand at 12%, Goa at 10%, and Kerala at 9%. Offbeat destinations are quietly gaining ground too, with Gandikota at +22% YoY, Pachmarhi at +18%, Hampi–Anegundi at +16%, and Binsar at +14% emerging as heritage-rich, crowd-free escapes.
Travellers from Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities, including Surat, Coimbatore, Indore, Nagpur, Vizag, and Vadodara, are fuelling a 6–8 percentage-point rise in festive traffic, widening the market beyond metros. According to the report, the demand is led by the age group of 25-39, who often travel with family or in friend groups. The report also sees a surge in travel from the age group of 40 to 55-year-old dual-income households. Seniors, meanwhile, are turning to niche trips such as Kenya’s lodge safaris and Japan’s autumn city tours.
At the ultra-luxury end, Africa is seeing renewed interest, with Tanzania at +21% YoY and Botswana at +17% drawing affluent travellers for safaris priced between Rs 1.6 and Rs 2.5 lakh per person. Europe, too, remains in play, with shoulder-season runs across Italy, Austria, Portugal, and Central/Eastern Europe.
Thrillophilia’s insights are based on around 4.2 million festive-season visits to its platform, capturing real-time searches and bookings from travellers across India.