Short trip to small cities is new travel trend

Chennai: As the economic slowdown bites, Indian travellers are exploring pocket-friendly smaller cities to satiate their wanderlust, it seems. Going by Oyo booking numbers, people are looking for short trips to new places to find balance between work and leisure.

Surprisingly, Guwahati emerged as the most booked destination and the most sought after by couples, while Kochi topped the charts of being the tier-II city mostly booked by families.

The new-age hospitality company says it witnessed an upward surge in bookings in its hotels in smaller cities in the September quarter compared to the previous quarter and the same quarter last year.

Surat and Nagpur saw daily average bookings shooting up by 493 per cent and 291 per cent, respectively, in the September quarter against the same quarter last year.

Among different cities, Puri witnessed 62 per cent growth in the September quarter over the June quarter, Kanpur 49 per cent, Nagpur 49 per cent, Surat 41 per cent, Varanasi 38 per cent, Faridabad 38 per cent and Prayagraj 37 per cent.

“It’s interesting to see how the travel and hospitality industry has evolved in recent times. Driven by the availability of hands-on internet and demand for unique hospitality experiences, people are experimenting with itineraries, breaking away from mainstream destinations and heading out to different tier 2 and tier 3 cities in search of more nuanced experiences,” said Gaurav Ajmera, Chief Operating Officer, India & South Asia, Oyo Hotels and Homes.

Rather than spending days in one location, people are increasingly looking to explore new places on their own. According to Oyo’s data, Ahmedabad was the top tier-2 city chosen by solo travellers, recording 27 per cent increase sequentially.