Helsinki, Florence among offbeat spots explored by Indians: Report

Indians are increasingly exploring offbeat destinations like Helsinki, Moscow and Florence, signifying changes in travel behaviour this year, indicates a report. A winter report based on bookings by online travel agency MakeMyTrip, shares insights on the travelling trends this holiday season, read a statement.

Young travellers are driving the shift from offline to online in the travel industry. The transactions made from mobile app have increased by 59 per cent since the last winter season, whereas only 41 per cent individuals are booking via desktop. In terms of travelling destinations, there has been a more than a three-fold increase in individuals exploring international places as compared to the domestic destinations with 26 per cent travellers preferring to stay in 4-5 star hotels.

International travel has grown by 60 per cent this year, as compared to 37 percent for domestic travel. Thailand, Singapore and Dubai have been the top international destinations followed by Malaysia and London while the new offbeat destinations being explored are Helsinki (for skiing, snowboarding and kick-sledding), Florence, Moscow, Paris and Amsterdam.

Also, more people are travelling to long haul destinations like the US, Canada, Turkey and Netherlands this year. The top domestic holiday destination this winter season has been Goa, followed by Udaipur, Jaisalmer and Manali. Top off-beat domestic destinations being explored include, Kumarakom, Chikmagalur and Malvan which are small and quiet towns.

Mohit Gupta, COO Online, MakeMyTrip said: "As compared to last year, we have seen a rise of around 39 per cent in the numbers of Indians travelling during the Christmas and New Year season, with about 64 per cent Indians travelling during the Christmas weekend, whereas 36 per cent will be travelling around New Year's eve."

Looking at travellers who have booked holiday packages, Gupta pointed out that Singapore, Thailand, Bali and Mauritius have emerged as the most popular choices while Vietnam, Russia, Croatia, Scandinavia are some of the destinations that are considered coveted by holiday-goers.

Catch up on all the latest Mumbai news, current affairs from Mumbai, local news, crime news and breaking headlines here

Download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get updates on all the latest and trending stories on the go