Booking.com announces the rankings of cities that proved most popular for travellers booking in India in the first half of 2019, giving a holistic overview of travel destinations and preferences of both Indian and international travellers travelling within and to India in Q1 and Q2. Rishikesh, Varanasi, Tiruchchirappalli, Nedumbassery and Munnar are also revealed to be amongst the fastest-growing destinations of first half of 2019.
Commenting on the trends, Ritu Mehrotra, Country Manager, India, Sri Lanka and Maldives at Booking.com said, “The market is increasingly growing, thriving with opportunities as a consequence of well informed and conscious travellers, wanting to explore newer destinations and accommodation options. While we’ve seen travel as a category grow in the first half of 2019, with increased digital penetration and social media usage this trend looks set to continue, with travellers seeking frequent contemporary getaways.”
Beyond the metro cities like Delhi NCR, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad, Pune and Kolkata, scenic and beach destinations were among the popular choice for Indian travellers travelling domestically, the next in line being: Jaipur, Kochi, Mysore, Ahmedabad, Ooty, Chandigarh, Coimbatore, Pondicherry, Calangute and Varanasi.
South India tops the list for both International travellers visiting India as well as Indians travelling within India with destinations like Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad and Kochi making it to the list of top 10 most popular states in the first half of 2019. While looking at North India, New Delhi, Jaipur and Agra were among top booked by travellers. For Indians travelling domestically, destinations like Amristar and Agra which were a popular choice last year during this time have been replaced with destinations like Coimbatore and Varanasi.
