New Delhi. As soon as winter begins and the cold winds blow, Indians feel ready to pack their suitcases and fly abroad. December holidays, New Year’s excitement and the mood to travel are together making this winter a superhit travel season. Someone is catching a flight to Europe with the dream of seeing the Christmas market in the snowy streets, while someone has set out for Bali, Dubai and Sri Lanka for the warm sunshine and blue sea. The choice of Indians for this year’s winter vacation is very clear – whether it is cold or sunny, a trip abroad is necessary.
According to visa platform Atlys, this time most of the applications have come from Millennials (54%), i.e. youth of 25–40 years are going out to travel the most. Half of these people are choosing only the Schengen countries (Europe). Gen Z is also growing rapidly and now 25% of applications are coming from this group. An interesting trend is also seen in the preferences of women passengers. 34% of the applicants are women and most of them are choosing nearby and safe destinations like Sri Lanka. On the other hand, the first choice of male travelers is the Schengen countries of Europe.
Most people are coming out to visit from Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru.
Most of the people are going abroad from Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru. But tier-2 cities like Lucknow, Ludhiana and Surat are also progressing rapidly.
Two types of travel moods are clearly visible this winter—
(1) Snow-seekers: Going to see Christmas markets, ski slopes and Northern Lights in countries like Switzerland, France, UK.
(2) Sun-chasers: Choosing beach destinations like Bali, Dubai and Sri Lanka.
Apart from this, nearby places like Vietnam, Thailand and UAE also remain favorites for quick trips.
Multi-country tour is also quite popular
Multi-country tours are also becoming very popular. People are taking advantage of the Schengen visa to cover many European countries in a single trip and finally complete their journey by going to the UK.
Sharp rise in honeymoon travel too
Also, due to about 46 lakh weddings taking place in India in November-December, there has been a sharp increase in honeymoon travel. New couples are most choosing Europe for their first foreign trip.
