It is not as if the war in West Asia has scared Indians into quelling their wanderlust. Flights are still going full, resorts are packing it in and tourist hotspots are brimming with milling crowds.
The only change is a re-routing, to use an industry lingo.
“There has been a noticeable shift in travel patterns, with many people moving their summer holiday plans to Indian destinations,” said Manoj Chacko, MD and CEO of FLY91, one of India’s youngest airlines, a pure play regional airline headquartered in Goa.
Contrary to worries over the missiles and drones to and from Iran derailing international flight traffic, India’s travel and tourism sector seem to have reconfigured its way out with some adept adaptation. Calling it “an exceptionally strong period for domestic aviation”, Chacko said, “We are seeing a significant increase in demand for leisure hotspots such as Goa and Lakshadweep. This demand is peaking in the current quarter.”
While Chacko’s mention of the two beach tourism hotspots may have been more because those are the two primary destinations in FLY91’s schedules, the fact remains that Indians have themselves hit upon a two-pronged travel plan to get over the Middle East blues: forget Dubai and head to South East Asian holiday spots, and go for shorter and immediate domestic vacations.
The latter has seen demands for domestic spots like Jaipur, Rishikesh and Ooty going up in travel searches, according to travel portal Booking.com. The site said that its user search data now indicates that there is an huge uptick in long weekend escapes, preferably to a shorthaul destination within the country. This is particularly high during periods like the ongoing Easter weekend.
“Travellers are increasingly beginning to appreciate the diversity and richness of destinations within India,” added Chacko, “This growing interest is likely to drive interest in domestic tourism, benefiting both airlines and the hospitality sector. India offers a vast range of experiences – from the mountains and forests to beach, heritage sites and architectural landmarks. People are looking to explore these options.”
While bigger pan-Indian operators like Indigo and Air India do face an uphill task with their massive network and the rising cost of aviation turbine fuel (ATF) – this week’s hike has meant, according to one estimate, an additional ₹80,000 crore additional burden in fuel costs for all airlines combined. The bigger airlines will have to look at maximising their revenue to get over this jeopardy (the government helpfully removed the cap on airfares at ₹18,000 one way which was set after the Indigo meltdown last December, as well as keeping in abeyance that had stipulated that at least 60 per cent of seat selection during check-in should be kept free, to help airlines make up), but for smaller airlines like FLY91, there are two advantages: one is that they can use their limited aircraft on routes with higher demand, like tourist spots and those with high-frequency travel; and second, they can avail the viability gap funding offered by the government for regional connectivity scheme.
Take for example, Akasa, a newish pan-Indian airline which also flies to six international destinations. This summer, it is actually expanding its network capacity by 22 per cent, with a peak focus on domestic routes. “Our summer 2026 schedule reflects a thoughtfully calibrated approach to network development, aligning capacity with evolving demand patterns,” said Anand Srinivasan, co-founder and chief commercial officer, Akasa Air.
It is also not as if Indians have suddenly stopped going abroad. The difference is that most of middle India’s leisure travel has now switched from Dubai, India’s biggest outbound destination historically, to South East Asia. While leading travel portal ixigo says Vietnam is one of the more popular destinations by users on its platform, Thailand, Singapore and Vietnam are the most searched for international destinations on Booking.com.
“While the Middle East has traditionally been among the top international destinations, recent weeks... have seen shift towards closer South East Asian markets, with bookings rising significantly,” said Aloke Bajpai, co-founder and group CEO, ixigo.
