India’s Festive Travel Surge: From Varanasi To Vietnam And Beyond

Published on September 14, 2025

While India enjoys 1 of its astir breathtaking festivals – Diwali – a displacement is taking spot successful nan recreation scenery of nan country. By 2025, spending nan show astatine location is simply a point of nan past, arsenic families embark connected long-distance taste and belief trips. From Varanasi to Vietnam, much and much Indians are taking transcendental trips that connection much than conscionable an mean homebound vacation and are seeking belief opulence and tailored travel. This recreation roar is besides a consequence of nan caller Goods and Services Tax (GST) authorities and a propensity to book early for vacation travel.

“Usually, for Diwali, Indians travelled domestically for a fewer days, but a caller inclination now is to walk nan show connected an extended family trip. With nan show connected a agelong weekend, families are extending their trips to return their children connected a vacation. This is reflected successful a surge of recreation to Varanasi, Vietnam, and different Indian resorts,” says a recreation agency.

Booming Domestic and International Travel Industry

During this festive play successful India, nan connection astir nan recreation and tourism manufacture has gained momentum, and families are opting for destinations pinch spirituality and culture. While immoderate group recreation to Varanasi for spirituality and wish to sojourn nan ghats and nan temples, others for illustration International recreation to places for illustration Vietnam, which connection customized recreation packages pinch in-depth civilization and cuisine immersion.
As per recreation manufacture insiders, this newfound liking and unreserved are triggered by nan festive season. While various studies and reports propose that expanding home and world tourism is an parameter of taste and in-depth recreation immersion.

Changing Consumer Behavior and nan Role of GST successful Stimulating Travel

The preamble of nan caller GST laws has triggered an progressive request for tourism during nan festive period. The affordability of home and world trips has accrued owed to travel-related services falling nether nan little taxation slabs. Most pertinent, nan taxation trim connected recreation booking and edifice tariffs has accrued accessibility of definite luxury and boutique properties to a wider conception of travelers.

This taxation alleviation aligns perfectly pinch nan evolving user behaviour successful nan country. The India Holiday Report (‘2025’) by Thomas Cook India and SOTC Travel states that much than 85% of Indian travelers accrued nan number of trips taken arsenic good arsenic nan money spent connected recreation this year. This year, travelers are spending much money and taking extended vacations by blending respective festivals specified arsenic Durga Puja, Dussehra, and Diwali into a single, prolonged getaway.

The Increased Demand for Luxury & Spiritual Tourism

Although tourism of a taste and belief quality has ever attracted galore travelers, for 2025, location is simply a important summation successful bookings to belief pilgrimages and their world counterparts, specified arsenic Char Dham, Ayodhya, and Tirupati. There is besides Sri Lanka for belief seekers nether nan Ramayana Trails. It is nan summation successful nan number of group undertaking specified journeys that indicates a greater appreciation of nan practice and nan request for thoughtful and meaningful travel.

The request for luxury recreation is besides expanding arsenic travelers for illustration to enactment successful high-end resorts, practice properties, and embark connected cruise holidays. There has been a surge successful nan request for luxury stays, peculiarly during nan festive season, by brands for illustration Trip.com and EaseMyTrip. In particular, family-oriented and luxury experiences are proving particularly popular, pinch bookings for premium stays and curated taste activities seeing robust growth.

Tier 2 and 3 Cities Driving Travel Growth

The astir astonishing facet successful nan Travel Trends pinch respect to nan Growth successful Tier 2 and 3 cities is mostly focused connected mini municipality centers, which antecedently catered to only section and location travels, which is now forging up successful nan tourism industry, predominantly during nan section festive period, which has only seen improvements complete nan past 2 years. Travel manufacture reports besides item that nan Tier 2 and 3 cities now lend to much than 60 percent of festive play bookings, which further emphasizes nan increasing value of these cities successful nan economical cycle.

Udaipur, Jaipur, and Vrindavan person besides captured nan attraction of galore surrounding smaller cities, pinch their drastic summation successful searches and bookings, which is predominantly driven by nan taste and relaxing quality of these places. This request besides allows nan tourism companies to style their services successful specified a measurement that meets nan request of these recently emerging travelers, which successful move shifts nan opportunity to specified destinations that were antecedently disposable only to a definite region.

Luxurious and experiential stays: A modern modular for festive travel

Most festive recreation has been tailored specifically for those who activity immersive experiences and luxurious stays crossed hotels and hospitality brands. To woo holidaymakers, hotels and resorts successful India are preparing festive menus and organization activities for families. From Puja Lakshmi celebrations and diya lighting to taste presentations, festive recreation now includes taste enrichment.

Travel experts person noted that families and young travelers want much than a recreation route; they want stories that are profoundly woven into nan tapestry of nan culture. These stories should unfold successful a recreation acquisition that meaningfully connects them to nan places that they visit. For instance, a sojourn to West Bengal during nan taste celebrations of nan Durga Puja, and a belief retreat successful Varanasi are experiences a traveler would want incorporated into their vacation for engagement beyond nan basal relaxation that is offered.

Future Predictions and Booking Trends

It is noted that location are reports wrong nan manufacture that authorities that wrong nan span of this year, location is simply a important maturation successful nan number of group who are securing their vacation enactment days successful advance. This beforehand readying is astir apt a consequence of nan caller easiness of entree offered by integer costs work methods specified arsenic UPI. This season’s festive play is besides seeing a spike successful nan request for expanding interstate autobus routes, particularly on nan Bengaluru-Andhra and Delhi-Bihar routes, pinch a noticeable summation successful nan autobus fares arsenic nan request continues to increase.

In spite of nan summation successful bookings, location is still a request for last-minute bookings for much upscale stays and boutique hotels. There is simply a noticeable spike successful nan visits to award-winning scenic destinations specified arsenic Palampur, Gir, and Rishikesh, owing to nan precocious request for system edifice experiences that see taste immersion and family feasts that are aimed astatine easing nan request for accommodation.

Conclusion: A New Era For Celebratory Travel Within India

The twelvemonth 2025 is going to beryllium transformative for recreation wrong India for nan caller festive season. Embracing caller modes of ceremony for holidays, particularly astatine taste and belief places, travelers are welcoming longer and much vacations. Be it to Varanasi for a belief retreat, aliases to Vietnam for a taste sojourn, nan celebratory play is meant for crossing borders and gaining caller and enriching experiences, particularly pinch nan caller GST regime.

The accelerated advancement of nan recreation and tourism assemblage successful India is propelled by an all-year-round ceremony of an summation successful world and home tourism, on pinch a highest successful request for royal lodging. The cardinal portion played by Tier 2 and Tier 3 towns successful nan advancing recreation industry’s system is simply a testament to nan slow booming festive tourism wrong nan nation.