As Diwali approaches, Indian travellers are embracing a more intentional approach to holidays, favouring compact getaways and meaningful activities over opulent splurges, according to Thrillophilia's Festive Travel Pulse 2025 report. The AI-powered travel platform's analysis, drawn from 4.2 million user interactions during the Navratri-to-Diwali period, reveals an 18% year-on-year surge in domestic demand and a 24% jump in outbound bookings.

This shift reflects evolving economic realities, including the impact of GST 2.0 on pricing, alongside a post-pandemic desire for authenticity amid rising disposable incomes in tier-2 and tier-3 cities. Travellers from hubs like Surat, Coimbatore, Indore, Nagpur, Vizag, and Vadodara are driving 6-8 percentage points of this growth, underscoring a democratised travel boom that extends beyond metros.

At the core of this trend is "smart luxury"—a pragmatic pivot where value trumps excess. Mid-range accommodations priced between ₹2,000 and ₹6,000 per night have seen a 22% increase, accounting for nearly half of all bookings, up from previous years. Jaipur has emerged as the leading affordable-stay market, with its boutique heritage hotels and homestays appealing to budget-conscious explorers. Domestically, the Rajasthan circuit of Jaipur-Udaipur-Jaisalmer dominates at 16% of searches, followed by Himachal-Uttarakhand (12%), Goa (10%), and Kerala (9%).

Offbeat destinations are gaining traction as crowd-averse alternatives, with Gujarat witnessing a post-Navratri spike in extensions to Rajasthan. Internationally, short-haul Asia-Pacific spots like Dubai, Singapore, and Thailand capture over 70% of outbound interest, favoured for their 4-6 night "escape" format that balances convenience and novelty.

Trip durations are shrinking in favour of frequency, with 2-3 night stays comprising 58% of itineraries—a six-point rise from 2024—and an average length of just 2.6 nights. This micro-vacation ethos aligns with improved planning, as the average booking lead time has stretched to 21 days, signalling greater traveller confidence. Air travel patterns reinforce this thriftiness: Usage of miles and upgrade vouchers has climbed 21%, while premium cabin shares dipped 2.8 percentage points. Instead of lavish lodgings, budgets are reallocating to immersive pursuits, embodying a "save on stay, splurge on the day" philosophy coined by Thrillophilia co-founder Abhishek Daga.

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Experiences are the undisputed stars, with bookings for treks up 27%, local sightseeing 24%, and cultural-culinary tours 22%. The average spend on activities hits ₹3,600, channelling funds into sundowner desert safaris in Dubai, bay cruises in Singapore, or ziplines in Vietnam. This experiential tilt, coupled with a 45% projected rise in cultural tourism per industry metrics, highlights how Indians are curating holidays around festivals and natural events for deeper connections.

As Diwali bookings peak with last-minute rushes, Thrillophilia anticipates this model—blending affordability, brevity, and enrichment—will influence travel through 2026, fostering sustainable growth in India's burgeoning tourism sector.

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