Holi drives air fares up 2x on select routes

Holiday Rush

- SWARAJ BAGGONKAR Mumbai, March 12

BOOKINGS FOR DESTINATIONS across the northern cities of the country and to a bunch of tourist hotspots have seen a spike during the Holi long weekend.

According to data supplied by online travel platform ixigo, there has been an average 45-50% year-on-year (y-o-y) increase in flight bookings close to the festival, driven by a mix of homebound travel, leisure getaways and spiritual tourism.

Additionally, cultural hotspots have also witnessed a surge in demand. Flight bookings to Ayodhya have skyrocketed by 50% y-o-y, while Varanasi and Amritsar have seen a 20-30% increase.