Summer travel: Soaring heat & affluence push Indians to book pricier, visa-free vacations abroad

New Delhi: As the mercury inches up a notch each passing day, an increasing number of Indians are booking cool vacations--often beyond home shores--to beat the oppressive heat, undeterred by airline or hotel prices that are soaring nearly as fast as the dreaded thermometer readings through this scorching April.

Travel experts ET spoke with said summer holiday packages could go up by at least 10-15% this year, as more and more Indians, in definitive signs of surging affluence, seek frictionless, visa-free or visa-on-arrival destinations.

Bharatt Malik, senior VP for flights and the hotel business at Yatra Online, said the company has seen a significant rise in advance summer bookings. Overall, inquiries have already climbed 15-18% over last year, indicating a 'robust' travel season ahead.


"Package prices have seen an increase of around 10% across both domestic and international sectors. This upward shift is largely due to growing demand, rising input costs, and limited availability in high-demand destinations," Malik said.

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While new visa applicants are looking at stretched appointment timelines in what's best described as uncertain times for cross-border travel, Kesari Tours' outbound summer holiday packages to the US-for destinations such as New York, San Francisco, Washington, and Las Vegas-are sold out already. Japan and South East Asian destinations are also seeing high demand, said Himanshu Patil, director, Kesari Tours, and president, Outbound Tour Operators Association of India (OTOAI).

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"Those who got their US visas last year or over the past few months have booked these packages," said Patil.
Easy visa rules

"Because of high air fares, rates will go up marginally for us. While numbers are growing, we are also observing shifts in the pattern of the Indian travellers," said Patil.

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"More travellers are moving toward visa free, easy-visa, or visa-on-arrival countries. These destinations such as Azerbaijan, Vietnam and Georgia are gaining more momentum in comparison to the European destinations. Very few Schengen countries are proactively issuing visas, and a lot of them don't have easily available slots," he added.
Karan Agarwal, director, Cox & Kings, said demand has picked up even before formal campaign rollouts of its short-haul product pilot packages, and the company is seeing strong demand for group bookings and family travel.

"There's a noticeable shift toward low-friction getaways where travellers only need to pick their dates and leave the rest to us," Agarwal said.

While the company's summer portfolio includes curated European group departures across usual destinations such as France, Switzerland and Italy, Cox & Kings is also seeing a significant surge in demand for short-haul escapes, especially to Central Asia and Southeast Asia, driven by easier visa access, newer air routes, and growing interest in culturally rich, value-for-money destinations.

"Packages to Baku, Almaty, Vietnam, Thailand, and Bali have gained popularity among younger professionals, couples, and small groups," Agarwal added.

Santosh Kumar, country Manager for India, Sri Lanka, Maldives and Indonesia at Booking.com, said while Ooty, Munnar, Kodaikanal, Darjeeling and Manali are among the top five most searched domestic destinations for family getaways, the company is also seeing destinations such as Madikeri, Gangtok and Varkala gaining traction this summer.

"On the international front, while perennial favourites such as Dubai, Singapore, Bali and Bangkok remain popular, Tokyo and Abu Dhabi are experiencing a notable surge in interest, with year-over-year growth of 110% and 180%, respectively," he added.

Sunil Kumar R, president, Travel Agents Association of India, said prices are likely to go up during the peak season.

"I think the government will need to step in. At times, a Mumbai-Hyderabad flight can cost ₹15,000-20,000. There must be a maximum price regulated to support the consumers. Surely, the airlines will have to protect their base costs. That they can enhance at the lower-level pricing rather than taxing the consumers, limitless," he added.

The demand-supply gap in the hospitality sector is also making vacation packages costlier.

Manjari Singhal, chief growth and business officer, Cleartrip, said traditional hotspots like Thailand, Singapore, and Goa remain favourites, but the company is also seeing traction for destinations such as Georgia and Azerbaijan.