As the travel season picks up, Indian travellers are planning overseas trips with renewed enthusiasm.
New data from Airbnb reveals that long-haul favourites such as the US, UK and cities across Europe feature prominently in guest searches overseas, with London, Dubai, Paris, Toronto and New York ranking as the top searched overseas cities by Indians in Q3 2022*. Search for travel to USA from India is high.
Domestically, Indians are exploring popular beach destinations in the hills of Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand as well as the North-Eastern region. Overall nights booked in India grew by almost half, while domestic nights booked grew by almost 80 per cent in Q3 2022 when compared to Q3 2019.
Globally, the top-searched overseas country destinations by Indians on Airbnb this Q3 were:
- United Kingdom
- Canada
- United Arab Emirates
- United States
- France
- Germany
- Switzerland
- Italy
- Netherlands
- Turkey
Most searched for destinations in Asia Pacific by Indians on Airbnb this Q3 were:
- Indonesia
- Vietnam
- Singapore
- Australia
- Thailand
- Malaysia
- South Korea
- Japan
- New Zealand
- Philippines
The most searched-for overseas cities by Indians on Airbnb this Q3 include:
- London
- Dubai
- Paris
- Toronto
- New York
- Bangkok
- Amsterdam
- Istanbul
- Barcelona
- Bali
While interest in traditionally popular destinations remains high, Indians are also expanding their travel horizons and looking to explore new overseas destinations. Airbnb saw a whopping increase of more than 1250 per cent in searches for stays in Turkey, an over 750 per cent increase in searches in Norway and an over 625 per cent increase in searches for Portugal from Q3 2021 to Q3 2022, and a more than 600 per cent increase in searches for South Africa.
Other trending overseas destinations include Poland and Finland (both more than 500 per cent), Greece (over 450 per cent) and South Korea (over 400 per cent).**
Most searched for domestic destinations by Indian travellers on Airbnb this Q3:
For shorter getaways, Indians are enjoying reconnecting with destinations domestically. When comparing Q3 2022 with pre-pandemic Q3 2019, overall nights booked in India grew by almost half, while domestic nights booked grew by almost 80 per cent.
Across the country, domestic destinations most searched for by Indians this Q3 2022 continue to be:
- Maharashtra
- Karnataka
- Delhi
- Goa
- Tamil Nadu
- Kerala
- Pondicherry
- Himachal Pradesh
- Uttarakhand
- Rajasthan
The North East region of India has proved to be a trending destination amongst Indian travellers.
Airbnbs search data shows an increase of over 450 per cent in searches for stays in Meghalaya, over 400 per cent increase in searches for Assam, and an almost 300 per cent increase in searches for Nagaland from Q3 2021 to Q3 2022.
Locally, Indian travellers are also exploring the popular beach destinations of Kerala (over 375 per cent increase in searches from Q3 2021 to Q3 2022), Goa (almost 275 per cent increase in searches), and Pondicherry (over 200 per cent increase).
They also searched for the hill stations of Uttarakhand (over 100 per cent increase in searches) and Himachal Pradesh (over 50 per cent increase in searched from Q3 2021 to Q3 2022).
The most searched-for domestic cities by Indians include Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Pune, Chennai, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Kolkata, Kochi, and Dehradun.
Amanpreet Bajaj, Airbnb’s General Manager for India, Southeast Asia, Hong Kong and Taiwan, said: “Popular travel hotspots of Europe, the United Kingdom, and the United States remain high on Indian travellers’ bucket lists. Closer-to-home destinations such as Thailand, Dubai, Indonesia, and Singapore also remain popular, as do the local beach and hill destinations across India. This growing appetite for travel is a positive sign as tourism recovery gathers pace. Airbnb is also committed to working collaboratively with communities across India to make sure locals living in off-the-beaten-track destinations can also share in the economic benefits of travel.”
Note:
- *Based on internal Airbnb search data, Q3 2022.
- **Based on internal Airbnb search data, Q3 2022 v Q3 2021.
- *** Searches made in Q3 2022 for December 18, 2022 – January 2, 2023 check-in dates
- **** Booked between May 11 and September 30 2022 for check-in 1 December 2022 through 28 February 2023
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