Skift Take
The grandeur of Indian weddings is moving beyond local banquets, and is now influencing the tourism industry in India. Newly-married couples are also driving international travel as part of their honeymoon plans.
The upcoming Indian wedding season will be driving a surge in travel, according to online travel company Ixigo. âFlight bookings to major metro hubs and top leisure destinations like Delhi, Mumbai, Srinagar, Jaipur and Goa are seeing a strong 70-80% year-on-year increase,â said Ixigoâs Group CEO Aloke Bajpai.
Around 4.8 million weddings are estimated to take place during the period between November 12 and December 16 this year, according to Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT).
Bajpai added that Tier-2 cities are âpowering the wedding seasonâ this year, as travel to these cities has witnessed a significant rise. âVaranasi bookings are up by 265% and Gorakhpur by 109%. Amritsar, Chandigarh and Patna have also recorded an increase of over 70% in flight bookings.â
Weddings are also leading to international travel as overseas destinations are top choices among honeymooners. âTravel to Southeast Asia and the Middle East is booming, with hotspots like Singapore, Vietnam, Thailand, Dubai, and Kuala Lumpur seeing a 120-130% year-on-year rise in bookings for November and December,â he said.
Indian Weddings and Tourism: Indian weddings are extravagant affairs. In an earlier feature, Skift Asia Editor Peden Doma Bhutia had reported that between November 23 and December 15, 2023, about 3.5 million couples tied the knot in India leading to spending that tot
