2019, time to travel like never before.

To Travel is to Live

2019 is here with the all-new travel habits and trends that will blend the desire to travel to unexplored and off-beat destinations in this new year. Indians are traveling like never before – with varied aspirations to explore newer destinations across the world, both on shoe-string and lavish budgets.

One of the hottest trends in 2018 was Cross-Generational Travel. As traveling with an extended family, in-laws or grandparents became ‘cooler’, this led to a new trend of cross-generational trips, that takes everyone in a family to a new aspect of a destination. Momentous to each generation, these experiences shape up in prized bonds and memories.

Another hot trend was Multi-Destination Travel. Many travelers prefer clubbing destinations to their existing itinerary as it helps them strike off destinations from their bucket list and also ends up being cost effective at times. For example, experiencing The Great Barrier Reef in Queensland and performances at the Opera House in Sydney, clubbed with Bungee Jumping at the Kawarau Bridge in Queenstown or experiencing the night safari in Kenya clubbed with the pristine beaches at Seychelles.

Since the release of ‘Dil Dhadakne Do’, a full-length Bollywood movie shot on a cruise, Cruise Tourism became extremely popular with Indian travellers. Once considered to be too expensive, cruise holidays are no longer the reservation of the rich and wealthy. Gaining momentum among all age groups in 2018, the experience to board a journey on the cruise alone has great aspirational value among Indian travelers. Also keeping the Indian value-seekers in mind, a cruise holiday is a great value for money – owing to all-inclusive packages. Asian waters continue to remain as cruise hotspots due to air connectivity and pricing. However, Alaska Cruises, Bahamas & Florida Cruises, South American and Transatlantic cruises along with River cruises in Europe continue to garner increasing interest.

An unusual trend that got noticed in 2018 was Glamping – a luxurious camping, where nature meets luxury. Interested glamping travellers love to combine adventurous destinations with luxurious accommodations, with a style of camping and high-end services & amenities. For example – Luxury Safari Tent stays in Masai Mara, Kenya saw raging interest from our enthusiastic Indian travellers.

Business mixed with leisure, Bleisure, continued to change the Indian workplace culture in 2018, where travel for work was perceived more as an experience rather than routine. The key elements contributing to the rise of Bleisure not only included growing work stress amongst employees or maintaining a work-life balance, but also a certain technological advance enabling “work from anywhere”, which created a win-win situation for both employers and employees. Destinations like the New York, London, Singapore, Malaysia and Tokyo were top of their Bleisure appeal in 2018.

Sports Tourism gained popularity too in the year 2018, owing to the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia, and will surely continue to grow in 2019 with the ICC World Cup in England and Wales. Sports enthusiasts plan

months in advance to visit host countries to not just enjoy the game live, but also travel and explore a new country.

A powerhouse of Long-Weekends, 2018 witnessed a never-seen-before boost to weekend getaways and staycations. Destinations that are a mere short-drive or a flight away make for a perfect Weekend Getaway. Goa, Alibaug and Lonavala were extremely popular amongst Mumbaikars. For Delhiites, Agra, Jaipur, Shimla, Mussoorie and Dehradun were favored destinations for short stays. Staycations were extremely popular amongst Indians who did not wish to leave the city but wanted to enjoy the luxuries of a star hotel, primarily giving them the feel of a holiday without getting out of the city.

Sleepcations turned out to be a growing trend amongst Indians travellers. Exclusively designed for sleep deprived travellers with high pressure jobs, ‘sleepcators’ often end up in mountains or at beaches for a relaxed time and, of course, to catch up on their sleep. Kerala, Goa and Gokarna were the most preferred locales for a sleepcation.

While travelling in large groups continues to remain a prominent trend amongst Indian travellers, 2018 also dedicated a fraction of itself to the young Solo Travellers. Solo Tours are the best outlet for travellers who desire privacy and freedom to explore locales at their own pace. Cities that are rich in history and culture such as Berlin, Rome, Florence, Krakow etc. are the best spots for some soul-searching. With the growing demand of unconventional accommodation options such as Airbnb, hostels, etc., solo Travel will continue to soar in 2019 too.

All in all, 2018 has been a year that saw Indian travellers stepping out of their comfort zone to explore activities and destinations that traditionally have not been done before. As 2018 comes to an end, many of these trends will continue to grow in 2019, as travel enthusiasts will always be on a lookout to explore new opportunities and destinations.

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