2018 has 16 long
weekends. Plan a trip now!
MUMBAI: With 16 long
weekends in 2018, travel portal managers said Indians have a good scope to plan
trips and explore new destinations.
While Indians usually
prefer short international and domestic destinations over long weekends,
portals said the number of long weekends will ensure that travelers can plan
visits to lesser-known destinations.
Popular destinations for
2018 include Japan, South America, Greece, Italy, South Korea.
“With the 2018 Winter
Olympics approaching, the spotlight is on South Korea. East Asia will likely
see an incursion of visitors to Seoul. Other top global destinations include
Italy, South Africa, France, Iceland and Australia, with Japan emerging as an
untraditional multigenerational family travel destination,” said Daniel
D’souza, head sales, India and NRI markets, SOTC Travel.
Going by last year’s
trends, the travel service said international destinations that see a surge in
popularity over long weekends include Dubai, Thailand and Bali. Popular
domestic holiday spots will be Goa, Andaman, Rajasthan and Himachal Pradesh.
“Indian tourists tend to
book holidays at least 30 days or even weeks in advance. The maximum bookings
were made by Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai residents,” D’souza added.
Karan Anand, head relationships, Cox and Kings said travelers should choose a
couple of destinations they would like to visit — either those in the country
or short-haul international destinations.
“If you plan to fly, then
look out for airline deals. The long weekend starting from January 26 is a good
example of when domestic airlines introduce offers. Keeping your budget in
mind, you can avail of such offers,” said Anand.
From November 15 to
December 15, MakeMyTrip surveyed people who had travelled in the past six
months, finding that those aged between 25 and 30 had travelled he most.
According to the survey,
49% of Indians travelled with friends or family to places such as Thailand, UAE
and Singapore.
Around 18% travelled to
explore new destinations, 16% for went on romantic trips, 7% travelled for
their honeymoon, 6% went on religious trips and 5% travelled for adventure.
HT7JAN18
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