Ask Skift: What Are the Top Travel Trends in India?

India, already the world's largest emerging outbound travel market, is in the midst of a travel boom as 63% of Indian travelers said they're planning to increase their travel budgets for 2024. In addition, Indian travelers are projected to become the fourth-largest global spender on travel by 2030.

What are the major travel trends in India? We turned to Ask Skift, our artificial intelligence chatbot. Ask Skift provided answers using information that's appeared in our daily news coverage and Skift Research. We also did additional reporting on the matter.

Ask Skift said:

The major travel trends in India, as of March 2024, include:

A shift towards experiential travel, eco-tourism, and offbeat destinations: The growth of these unique travel trends makes the industry more inclusive and appealing to a wider audience. Also, global collaboration and partnerships within the travel industry, as Indian companies form alliances with international counterparts, contribute to the development of a robust travel ecosystem.

Rising middle class: The expansion of India’s middle class, growing at a rate of 6% annually and representing 31% of the population, is propelling the country’s tourism growth. This demographic is projected to reach 60% by 2047, contributing significantly to the nation’s total income and creating a robust demand for travel services.

Digital revolution: Travel planning and experiences have been transformed by apps like MakeMyTrip, Booking.com, and TripAdvisor. Budget-friendly and flexible payment options, such as ‘travel now, pay later’ schemes, are making international travel more accessible, particularly for middle-class travelers.

Religious and spiritual tourism: Events such as the inauguration of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya have given a boost to religious and spiritual tourism in India.

Ask Skift said:

Religious tourism is booming in India, with online travel agency MakeMyTrip stating searches for spirital destinations have increased 97% from 2021 to 2023. The new Ram Mandir temple could attract 50 million visitors to the city of Ayodhya, accoring to brokerage firm Jefferies. Roughly half a million people visited the temple on its opening day.

“Religious tourism is still the biggest segment of tourism in India,” Jefferies said.

A large percentage of Indian travelers are also looking to travel to filming locations of movies and famous TV series. Roughly 94% said they've been inspired to visit a destination they’ve seen on film or a TV show, according to a survey by Skyscanner. The travel metasearch site also revealed that 42% of Indian travelers are eager to visit Paris due to the popularity of the Netflix show Emily in Paris.

Indian travelers are increasingly eager to use artificial intelligence in trip planning as 45% of Indian travelers are already using AI on their phones. A Booking.com survey to uncover travel trends for 2024 found that 76% of Indian travelers want tips from AI about how to enchance their trips. India's artificial intelligence market is projected to reach $17 billion by 2027.

Sleep tourism, a booming sector worldwide, is also making inroads among Indian travelers. Roughly 65% of those surveyed in Skycanner's above-mentioned report said they feel the need for a "sleep retreat" remedy in 2024. A fifth of Indian travelers stated sleep was on one of the main activities on their next vacation, with 66% saying they sleep better duing a vacation.

Finally, India's second-tier cities are expected to see an increase in visitors in the near future. Agoda CEO Omri Morgenshtern said travel to the country's smaller cities has grown significantly while Skift reported earlier this month that India's Tier 2 and 3 are experiencing a hotel construction boom.