From Paris to Phuket: The new logic guiding Indian summer travel

Indian travel plans for the summer are being quietly but decisively redrawn. As tensions in the Middle East due to the Iran war disrupt flight routes and raise costs as well as safety concerns, many travellers are stepping back from long-haul trips to Europe and the US. Instead, they are opting for domestic holidays or closer Asian destinations that feel more predictable and accessible. Travel companies are reporting fewer cancellations but a clear shift in preferences. What was once a season of Swiss Alps itineraries is fast turning into one of Goa beaches and Phuket resorts.

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Won't cancel, will reroute

As unpredictability hovers over international trips which mostly involve several Middle East cities as connecting hubs and rising air fares, travellers are not cancelling their plans but readjusting their itineraries, TOI has reported. There has been a noticeable shift towards domestic destinations, while Southeast Asia remains a preferred choice this season. “With Middle East transit routes disrupted and key hubs operating under constraints, travellers are actively choosing destinations accessible via direct routes or Asian hubs, driving a 20–28% surge in demand for Bali, Thailand, Vietnam, and Japan. At the same time, Europe travel is entering a phase of uncertainty, as the International Energy Agency (IEA) flags a potential jet fuel shortage in the coming weeks, prompting travellers to either fasttrack their bookings or pause plans altogether,” a spokesperson from the holiday booking platform Pickyourtrail, told TOI.


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“The UAE, which traditionally accounted for nearly 35% of India’s outbound travel, has seen widespread cancellations. Europe, too, has been impacted due to rising airfares,” Rajiv Mehra, General Secretary of the Federation of Associations in Indian Tourism and Hospitality (FAITH), told TOI. “As a result, travellers are redirecting their plans toward more cost-effective destinations such as Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, and Sri Lanka,” he added. As per Rikant Pittie, CEO & Co-Founder, EaseMyTrip, the broader trend is towards rescheduling or choosing alternate destinations rather than dropping plans altogether.

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“There is no question that the war in the Middle East is affecting bookings and air travel. We are seeing postponements in the Middle East for the second quarter running into the fourth quarter. But, the positive side is that we have seen many more Indian enquiries coming into Asia that could have gone to the Middle East.,” William E. Heinecke, founder and chairman of Minor International, that runs hotels, restaurants, and lifestyle brands, told ET two weeks ago.

“People aren’t really stopping travel. They are rearranging and postponing it. We are also benefiting from business moving into other parts of the world. Everyone is seeking safer alternatives, and we also expect travellers in Asia and Australia to probably look at increased travel to India as opposed to the Middle East. In the near term, there is going to be an upward interest in India as a result of what is happening in the Middle East," he added.

Domestic and Asian destinations are hot this summer

Amid disruptions in the Middle East, a report on last month revealed that travel preferences have shifted in recent weeks, with more travellers opting for alternate international and domestic destinations, while Asian locations see a surge in bookings this month.

Travel platform ixigo said it is seeing a shift in preferences, with more travellers opting for alternate international destinations and domestic getaways in recent weeks. This trend is being driven by evolving global dynamics, including flight disruptions and airspace constraints in the Middle East, prompting holidaymakers to favour more familiar and easy-to-reach locations, added the report. For travel this month, Asian destinations have recorded a strong surge in flight bookings with Vietnam emerging as the top international destination with a 130 per cent year-on-year increase in bookings, said the report. It was followed by Nepal (88 per cent), Sri Lanka (68 per cent), Indonesia (33 per cent), Singapore (32 per cent), and Thailand (22 per cent), it stated.

The report by ixigo was based on flight bookings on its platform for March and was compared with booking data during the corresponding period of last year. It further revealed that domestic leisure travel is also gaining strong momentum, with Udaipur seeing a 69 per cent year-on-year rise in flight bookings, followed by Jodhpur (47 per cent), Bagdogra (44 per cent), Srinagar (41 per cent), and Agartala (38 per cent). "While the Middle East has traditionally been among the top international destinations for Indian travellers this time of the year, recent weeks have seen preferences shift towards a broader set of markets amid evolving global dynamics. We're seeing a tilt towards closer Southeast Asian markets, with flight bookings rising significantly," ixigo Co-Founder and Group CEO Aloke Bajpai said.

Pickyourtrail co-founder and CEO Hari Ganapathy said with airlines like VietJet and Air India announcing sales for Vietnam and Australia, customers could also ditch westward destinations for South East Asia and markets like Australia besides options like Disney Adventure Singapore, Disney's first Asia cruise launched recently. “It’s a big cruise aimed at families, and our teams travelled to Singapore to understand the product. I don’t know if it is right or wrong, but people have started taking things in their stride post the Covid-19 pandemic, and travel intent still remains strong,” he added.

India eyes Southeast Asia flight deals

There will be another reason more tourists can prefer to fly to Southeast Asia this summer. India is set to commence talks with Southeast Asian nations including Thailand, Vietnam and Indonesia to increase flights, as the West Asia conflict has narrowed expansion opportunities for Indian carriers, ET reported early this month. International flying rights are granted on a bilateral, reciprocal basis by governments and airlines cannot deploy more capacity than allowed. The decision to initiate government-level discussions was made at an inter-ministerial meeting in March, officials aware of the development told ET. India's civil aviation authority will now begin talks with its counterparts in those countries and airlines.

Indian airlines are hit hard by the West Asia conflict as multiple major airports in the region are either shut or operating with heavily curtailed capacity. The region is a critical one for airlines like IndiGo, Air India and SpiceJet, as around 40% of their international capacity is deployed there. "Due to the situation in the Gulf, Indian carriers will be unable to deploy their planes this summer season. As the peak summer holiday season approaches, passengers will have more options to fly to Southeast Asia. More flights will keep fares in check," a government official said.

Southeast Asia has emerged as a top tourist destination for Indians over the last few years, with multiple countries in the region easing visa regulations for Indian visitors. The travel demand is so high that airlines from both sides have either exhausted or are close to exhausting the allotted seat quota, despite an increase in the numbers over the last two years. A new agreement signed last year allows airlines from India and Indonesia to deploy 9,000 seats per week from each side, connecting Jakarta and Denpasar (Bali) with Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Bengaluru and Hyderabad.