At the end of the year, the Christmas and New Year weekend triggered a travel boom. Hotels in Goa, Shimla, Ooty and heritage cities are houseful. Hotel room rates increased by 10-11%, boosted by domestic and international travel.
New Delhi: As the year 2025 is reaching its final phase, there is an atmosphere of holidays and celebrations across the country. The long weekend of Christmas and New Year has inspired people to travel. Its direct impact is visible on the hotel industry. There has been an increase of about 30 percent in hotel bookings in the month of December as compared to November. Compared to December last year, this growth is said to be between 10 to 15 percent. These figures clearly indicate that domestic tourism is currently at its peak.
Record increase in hotel bookings
According to data related to travel industry, the hotel sector has shown strong recovery in December. People are currently making travel plans in large numbers to spend holidays with family, friends and partners. The special thing is that this increase is not limited only to big cities, but hotels are running almost full in hill stations, beach destinations and heritage cities also.
What travel platforms are saying
Bharat Malik, Senior Vice President, Air and Hotel Business, Yatra Online, said that there has been a huge surge in hotel bookings during the long weekend of Christmas and New Year. According to him, hotel bookings have increased by about 30 percent compared to last month. This shows how strong traveler interest is during the holiday season. He also said that people are now giving priority to experience-based travel more than ever.
Tremendous demand from Goa to the mountains
At present, hotel booking is continuously increasing in many popular tourist destinations of the country. As always, Goa is at the forefront, where beaches, nightlife and festive atmosphere are attracting tourists. Apart from this, demand also remains strong in cities like Ooty, Wayanad, Jodhpur, Jaisalmer, Manipal, Srinagar, Shimla, Mcleodganj, Dehradun, Shillong and Pelling. All these places offer different types of experiences, according to the travelers’ preferences.
Demand increased due to different experiences
According to Bharat Malik, the mix of beaches, mountains, desert and cultural heritage makes these destinations special. Some are looking for solace in the serene mountains while others want to celebrate on the beaches of Goa. Because of this diversity, the hotel industry is getting big benefits at the end of the year. The effect of increased demand is clearly visible on room rents also.
Hotel room rate increase
With the increase in demand, the prices of hotel rooms have also increased. According to the report, hotel room rates have already increased by about 11 percent in the month of December. This increase is even more visible in many popular destinations. Especially in Goa and major hill stations, it has become difficult to get rooms for New Year night.
hotel chain status
Chief Executive Officer of Sarovar Hotels, Jatin Khanna, said that the room rents in his hotels are about 10 percent more than last year. He said that even though there is a clear surge in festive travel across the country, this time due to the holidays falling in the middle of the week, the increase in bookings has come slowly. Nevertheless, demand remains highest in major festive destinations like Goa.
Increase in family and couple travel
According to Jatin Khanna, cities like Jim Corbett, Puducherry, Agra and Jaipur are also seeing strong bookings. Especially family travelers, couples and people planning short trips are reaching these places more. People now want to celebrate festivals not just at home but with new experiences.
Tremendous interest in luxury hotels also
Anil Chadha, Managing Director, ITC Hotels Group, said there has been strong customer interest in many of its prestigious hotels. Hotels like ITC Mughal, Agra and ITC Rajputana, Jaipur remain the traditional choices. These hotels provide not only comfort but also heritage and luxury experience, the demand for which increases rapidly during the festive season.
Growing trend of road trips
Anil Chadha pointed towards an important trend. He said that the popularity of motorable tourist destinations is increasing rapidly in North India. People from big cities are giving preference to road trips to nearby tourist spots of Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand. The reason for this is convenience, flexibility and the option to complete the journey in less time.
Goa becomes festive hotspot
Goa remains the biggest hotspot of the festive season this time too. According to people associated with the hotel industry, bookings in Goa remain strong. Around New Year the hotels here have reached almost housefull status. Beach parties, music events and the presence of international tourists have further increased the demand for Goa.
International travel situation
Along with domestic travel, there is also interest in international travel. According to Thomas Cook, even though airfares have increased by 10 to 15 per cent, short haul destinations such as Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore and Vietnam continue to be the preferred choice for travellers. These countries are considered attractive in terms of both budget and experience.
Expenses increased in long distance travels
Indivar Rastogi, president, Thomas Cook India and SOTC Travel, said fares for countries like Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and Georgia have seen a marginal increase of 5 to 6 percent. At the same time, for long distance international travel, airfares to popular destinations like Switzerland, France, Germany and Norway-Finland have increased by 15 to 20 percent.
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