Concert travel strikes a high note with Indian tourists

Hotels and tour firms see spike in gigcations as travellers spend %12,000+ on show weekends

- ROSHNI SHEKHAR

India’s live events scene is hitting a high note. With global performers adding the country to their tour mapsand the government aiming todouble the concert economy, hotels in key metro cities are bracing for sold-out weekends. Travel operators, too, are curating packages built entirely around concerts.

Concerts were once a single-evening affair. Now, travellers are turning them into full-fledged weekend getaways, giving rise to the “gigcation” — a short, experience-led micro-holiday. Between October and December, event-linked trips have jumped 42 per cent year-on-year, according to artificial intelligence-powered travel and experiences platform ‘Thrillophilia.

‘The shift gathered pace this year with American rapper Travis Scott’s India debut on October 18, followed by Spanish singer Enrique Iglesias’ closing show in Mumbai on October 29-30 after his Delhi performance. Next up: Post Malone's possible concert in Guwahati, David Guetta headlining the Sunburn Festival in Mumbai, Senegalese-American artist Akon (of Chammak Challo fame), and even footballer Lionel Messi’s ‘G.0.AT India Tour’.