Travel outlook: Cautious optimism amid festive dip

Absence of major events in 2024 may upend the travel surge, but some remain confident

- Anu Sharma

After a robust 2023, travel companies are approaching 2024 with cautious optimism, following lower-than-expected demand during Dussehra and Diwali, the peak travel periods for airlines in India.

The expectations for next year are mixed. While travel services firm Thomas Cook anticipates double-digit growth in throughput and revenue for the next year, with no significant growth barriers ahead, travel agency Booking.com said 2023 is decent until December, but uncertainty looms over 2024 due to the absence of major events that may trigger a sharp increase in demand. The insights were shared exclusively with Mint.

According to the most recent government data, domestic air traffic during January-October stood at 125.5 million passengers, up 6% from the corresponding period of pre-covid 2019.