Short-haul international destinations have emerged as favourites for travellers during monsoon season due to increased air connectivity and easy visa policies.
According to Cleartrip.com, leisure destinations in South Asia and South East Asia such as Thailand and Sri Lanka have seen a 20-40 per cent increase in bookings for July and August on an year-on-year (y-o-y) basis.
A similar trend has been witnessed by Booking.com with Dubai, Singapore, Colombo, Bangkok and Bali emerging as the top searched destinations for travel between July and September.
Tour operator Thomas Cook India too has reported a 22-25 per cent uptick for domestic and short-haul destinations. “Bhutan and Sri Lanka remain popular among travellers in monsoon,” it said.
"The significant spike in Thailand and Sri Lanka can be attributed to the introduction of the visa-free travel policy. Nepal recently introduced a new visa-free policy for India and a visa on arrival for 3 countries, which could have also boosted inbound travel in the country, " Cleartrip.com said in its monsoon travel outlook.
New flight additions have also helped in increasing access and lowering fares.
IndiGo doubled its frequency between Delhi and Phuket to fourteen flights per week from June. Malaysia Airlines too is increasing the frequency between Kuala Lumpur - Amritsar from four to seven per week from August 1, 2024, and has added new services to Ahmedabad and Thiruvanathaputaram.
"This season, while Indian travellers are keen on discovering the beauty of India's diverse landscapes, they are also taking advantage of eased border restrictions and increased accessibility to international destinations to satisfy their passion for travel," said Santosh Kumar, Booking.com's country manager for India, Sri Lanka, Maldives and Indonesia.