Christmas and New Year Travel Trends – By Karan Anand, Head, Relationships, Cox & Kings

A trend to celebrate white Christmas has been set in among Indian travellers since the past few years. This year, many travellers from India are expected to fly off for international vacations in New York, Finland, Austria, Budapest, Norway and Canada during Christmas and New Year.

Europe’s Christmas markets, Dubai Shopping Festival, Hong Kong winter fest and Beach Christmas at Bondi Beach (Australia) also interest travellers for the exciting Year-End and Christmas events. Dubai shopping festival starting on 26th December to 28th January is attracting of a number of Indian travellers just like every year. One more key attraction of Dubai is amazing fireworks you get to witness during this time of the year.

Christmas markets, Christmas Eve parties, New Year Eve treats are the highlights of European destinations. Christmas markets in Germany, France, and Croatia are the most popular ones. Most of these markets start in mid-November and continue till 3rd or 4th week of December. During this period, the shops and iconic structures are decorated for Christmas celebrations. Rovaniemi, home to Santa Clause Village is the main attraction this year along with Santa Park which interests children more but also features ice sculptures and quaint shops.

As a result, the demand for international holidays for December 2018 & January 2019 has surged up more than 20%.

The response to domestic tours too has increased by 15%. Beach destinations in Konkan region of Maharashtra, Goa, and Andaman are trending the most followed by Rajathan and snow destinations such as Manali, Sonmarg, Patnitop, Kufri and Auli. The demand for domestic snow destinations has been surging since the past few years mainly for the fun activities such as skiing, snowball fight, snow tubing, and snowmobile safaris.

Christmas and new year Cruises have been a craze among luxury-seeking travellers.  This year, cruises starting from Mumbai and Cochin are receiving a fabulous response from Indian vacationers along with Singapore cruises.

Adventure enthusiasts are ready to welcome the New Year in their own style. We are receiving a great response for our Trip 360 adventure expeditions departing in December such as Everest Base Camp Trek, Har Ki Dun Trek, Ice Climbing Course Manali, Mumbai to Goa coastal cycling, Sandhakphu Phalut Trek, Kedarkantha Trek, and scuba diving in Thailand- Phuket. The demand for adventure holidays has surged by 10% as compared to the same period last year.

 

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