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How India Travels This Winter

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From Spiritual Journeys to Global Escapes: How India Travels This Winter

As the year draws to a close, Indian travelers are gearing up for their much-anticipated year-end vacations, with a mix of domestic and international destinations witnessing a surge in demand. A unique shift in travel preferences is unfolding, with religious tourism gaining traction among domestic travelers, while Dubai continues to dominate as the top outbound destination. Alongside traditional favorites like Paris, London, and New York, new destinations like Baku are making their mark, driven by improved connectivity and growing traveler interest.

This year, destinations such as Amritsar, Varanasi, and Mahabaleshwar are seeing an unprecedented increase in hotel bookings, reflecting a renewed focus on cultural and spiritual experiences. Meanwhile, internationally, Dubai leads the way, with emerging hotspots like Langkawi and Abu Dhabi joining the list of preferred destinations for Indian travelers. Let’s look at these trends closely.

Domestic Travelers Prefer Religious Tourism
Travelers in India look forward to the year-end for family vacations. While popular destinations like Goa and Kashmir continue to have their demand this season, there is a rise in demand for hotels in religious places, some of which are seeing more than double the bookings compared to last winter.
Destinations Seeing More than 2X Increase
Amritsar
Belagavi
Mahabaleshwar
Udaipur
Varanasi

Source: Adara, a RateGain Company
Dubai Leads as the Outbound Destination

Dubai is the Indians’ most popular choice for outbound travel. The usual favorites Paris, London and New York follow next. Singapore, Abu Dhabi and Bangkok are the other destinations Indians have booked their hotels in.

Top Outbound Destinations
Dubai
Paris
London
New York
Singapore
Abu Dhabi
Bangkok
Toronto
Zurich
Sydney

Source: Adara, a RateGain Company
Baku is a New Favorite

With direct flight access to India, Baku has grown in popularity exponentially over a year, occupying its place among India’s top 15 outbound destinations this year. Other destinations that are experiencing similar popularity include Abu Dhabi and Langkawi.

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About Adara
Adara, a RateGain company, is one of the world’s largest data exchanges, providing access to ethically-sourced consumer data. With more than 270 global partners who supply aggregated, comprehensive traveler data, Adara delivers actionable insights and predictive intelligence to drive higher marketing ROI. For more information, visit https://adara.com/
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