Indians are travelling again! OYO saw a 72% surge in bookings for destinations like Jaipur, Goa and Kochi during the long weekend
Oct 5, 2020, 18:50 IST
- Nearly 1.8 - 2 lakh guests spent their long weekend at OYOs across India
- OYO’s booking trends reveal that Jaipur, Goa, and Kochi topped as India’s most popular leisure destinations among travellers this long weekend.
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With state borders opening up and relaxation of restrictions across the country, travelers are back into action. As per OYO’s recent consumer survey, 57% of respondents said that their next trip would be for leisure, while 61% had already decided the destination for their coming vacation. OYO’s booking trends for the long weekend, between 02nd and 04th October, clearly reflects India’s travel aspirations and confidence to hit the roads once again. As a result, OYO Hotels & Homes, saw a 72% surge in bookings for leisure destinations between 02nd October and 04th October. Over the weekend, nearly 1.8 - 2 lakh guests spent their long weekend at OYOs across India.
OYO’s booking trends reveal that Jaipur, Goa, and Kochi topped as India’s most popular leisure destinations among travellers this long weekend. Interestingly, most of this demand came from Delhi, making it the city with the highest aspirations to travel again. Through OYO’s consumer survey, safety emerged as the consumer’s top priority, further to which 56% would opt to travel via a private vehicle to nearby locations with their family or friends. The survey also highlights that travellers are most likely to plan their vacations between 1 - 3 days.
Very close to the survey findings, OYO has observed that Delhiites took inter-state road trips to tourist hotspots, with Jaipur and Agra topping charts. Majority travellers from Pune, Bangalore, Mumbai preferred to spend their long weekend along the exotic and relaxing beaches of Goa. Down South, Kochi was the most popular leisure destination, with most people coming into the city from Bangalore, Kozhikode, and Thiruvananthapuram. As for leisure destinations like Lucknow, Jaipur and Vishakhapatnam, most demand stemmed from Bhubaneshwar and Vijaywada respectively.
Here are the top leisure destinations across India and the four zones across the country:
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Region | Most popular leisure destinations for the 02nd October long weekend |
India | JaipurGoaKochiVishakhapatnamAgra |
North India | JaipurAgraMussoorie |
South India | KochiVishakhapatnamPondicherry |
North East India | Digha |
West India | Goa |
To ensure their health and safety, during their stay over the long weekend, OYO’s consumer survey shows that the majority of travellers are looking for value for money and cleanliness while booking their accommodation. Standing true to this insight, a whopping 91% of guests chose OYO hotels and homes with the ‘Sanitised Stays’ safety tag.
Commenting on the boost in bookings and comeback of leisure travel, Rohit Kapoor, CEO, India & South Asia, OYO said, “Travel is coming back, faster than we expected. All around the world, people are now looking forward to travelling and especially, exploring exciting local hidden gems. With safety being the traveller’s first priority, air travel has taken a backseat for more private and safer options like in-city staycations and roadtrips to nearby domestic vacation spots. We’re extremely happy to share that we saw a 72% surge in bookings this long weekend. These green shoots for leisure travel are a positive sign of rising consumer confidence. It shows that people are ready to move beyond the challenges brought about by the pandemic and embrace solutions to resume life in the new normal, with precautions and by diligently following the necessary government guidelines.”
He adds, “At OYO, we are listening to our consumers, ensuring that we address their concerns, their worries and their requirements to make travel decisions simpler, more convenient. To do so, our senior leaders personally spoke with 2000+ consumers and through these conversations, we understood that leisure travel will eventually come back soon, and therefore, we strengthened our preparedness to welcome guests safely with Sanitsied Stays. We also introduced Travel Assistance on our app to help with COVID-19 testing and state-wise guidelines, and thereby, becoming a part of our guests’ journey right from the very beginning.”
While there’s a surge in demand for leisure travel across the country, consumers are increasingly looking for trusted clean & sanitised stays, with 80% users searching for sanitised stays, while 46% users seeking regulation related information while planning their next travel.