Winter travel witnesses 34 per cent growth this year: Report

MUMBAI: With pleasant weather coinciding with school holidays, winter tourism is picking up in the country as travel plans for Christmas this year have seen a 34 per cent growth during Christmas and New Year as compared to last year, according to a report.

"Over 34 per cent more customers are travelling this time during Christmas and New Year compared to last year," revealed a 'New Year and Christmas Travel Trends' report by comprehensive travel website MakeMyTrip.

Winter tourism, as a concept, has picked up in India with 34 per cent more customers travelling this time during Christmas and New Year with four times higher growth for domestic travel than international one, compared to last year, MakeMyTrip Chief Business Officer-Holidays Ranjeet Oak said.

The report has also found that the travel during Christmas time is higher than around the New Year.

"Christmas weekend pips the New Year holiday with 59 per cent of bookings witnessed for Christmas compared to 41 per cent for New Year. We have witnessed strong last-minute bookings with more customers having booked within one month of the travel compared to last year," Oak said.

For holidays within India, Goa remains the most preferred destination, followed by Rajasthan and Manali as the other top places witnessing heightened interests.

For International trips, more customers are preferring to travel to short-haul beach locations, with Thailand, Dubai and Singapore being top international destinations followed by Bali in Indonesia and Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia, particularly due to increased air capacity and cheaper fares, he added.