Nearly one in four travellers booked more than one trip during India’s festive season last year, while bookings for the October-December period in 2026 are already around 50 per cent higher than at the same point in 2025, according to a report by backpacker hostel chain Zostel. The report, titled Zostel Festive Travel Pulse 2026, highlights a growing preference for multiple short getaways instead of a single annual holiday. The findings suggest that festive travel is increasingly becoming an opportunity for spontaneous breaks, with travellers taking advantage of weekends and public holidays to explore different destinations.

According to the report, 23 per cent of Zostel travellers made repeat bookings between October and December 2025, while nearly one in 10 stayed at two or more destinations during the quarter. Bookings for November 2026 stays have also increased by 43 per cent compared with the same period last year. The average festive trip lasted around two nights, reflecting demand for shorter holidays that can fit around work and other commitments. The booking trends indicate that travellers are increasingly choosing multiple brief experiences rather than planning one extended vacation.

The report also points to a preference for last-minute travel arrangements. Around three in 10 travellers booked their accommodation on the day of check-in, while approximately six in 10 made reservations within three days of arrival. Seven in 10 bookings were made within a week of the planned stay, and fewer than one in 10 travellers planned their trips more than a month in advance. Zostel said the pattern reflects a growing appetite for flexible travel, allowing people to make quick decisions about destinations and accommodation during the festive period.

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Hampi, Gokarna, Varkala, Rishikesh and Jaipur emerged as the most-booked destinations for the 2026 festive season so far. However, some of the fastest increases in bookings were recorded in Himalayan destinations. Sangla registered bookings at three times its level a year earlier, while Kalpa recorded 2.9 times the previous year's bookings. Shangarh saw a 2.8-fold increase, while Chitkul and Shoja each recorded bookings at 2.6 times their earlier levels. Three of the five fastest-growing destinations are located in Himachal Pradesh's Kinnaur region, highlighting rising interest in mountain getaways.

Solo travel accounted for more than half of the bookings recorded in the report, while around 30 per cent involved two travellers. Groups of three or more accounted for approximately one in seven bookings, and women represented more than a fifth of all guests. Delhi-NCR, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Pune and Hyderabad were identified as the leading source markets for festive travellers. The figures reflect booking patterns among Zostel customers and should not necessarily be interpreted as representative of the entire Indian travel market.

The report also identified distinct travel peaks across the festive quarter. The Dussehra and Gandhi Jayanti long weekend was October's busiest period in 2025, while November saw recurring increases in demand on Saturdays rather than one dominant travel weekend. The Christmas-New Year period was the busiest stretch of the quarter, with December 25 recording nearly 40 per cent more check-ins than an average day. Dharamveer Singh Chouhan, co-founder of Zostel and Zo World and group chief executive of Zo World, said the festive season was increasingly becoming a period of multiple trips, with travellers favouring short, spontaneous breaks.

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