Team Blitz India
NEW DELHI: Dubai and Bangkok were top international travel destinations for Indians in the year 2023.
According to a yearend review of bookings made on a travel portal, the two most popular destinations were followed by Denpasar, the capital of Bali, in Indonesia at the third position.
Modern extravagance such as artificial islands, mega malls and majestic skyscrapers of Dubai and the street food, markets, temples and nightlife of Bangkok were the top attractions of Indian tourists as per the travel portal Skyscanner.
For domestic travels, Indians opted for budget-friendly locations with culture and cuisine as their areas of priority. With airfares higher for major cities like Mumbai, Goa and Bengaluru during the second half of the year and during the festival season, domestic travellers opted for alternative locations.
A case in point in review was Jagdalpur in Chhattisgarh, which was the cheapest flight destination of all with return flights costing just Rs 3,035 on average in 2023. The destination is air-connected with Raipur and Hyderabad and saw very bookings.
The review also brings to focus certain other travelling habits of Indians in 2023. It said, 26 per cent of Indian travellers booked their flight and hotel tickets less than a week before travel. New Delhi was the top search destination and March was the most popular month for travel.
For international hotel stays for Indians, Nha Trang in Vietnam emerged as the cheapest city for a three-star hotel stay. Doha in Qatar came out on top as the city with the cheapest car hire offering, with Indian travellers paying only Rs 2,198 per day on an average.