ixigo, India’s leading travel marketplace has conducted a survey on travel trends for the upcoming Ardh Kumbh Mela 2019, which has revealed that youth travel is on the rise with 66 per cent Indian millennials between the age bracket of 15-35 opting to visit the upcoming cultural event.
The survey conducted by ixigo, further revealed that 38 per cent respondents are travelling to Kumbh this year for an overall cultural experience over spirituality and religious rituals like auspicious bathing (snans). Trains have emerged as the most preferred mode of travel for Kumbh with 83 per cent respondents travelling by train while six per cent and 5 per cent travellers are opting for flights and buses respectively. The travel trend survey was conducted in tier I and tier II cities across India.
Survey findings also indicate that 60 per cent travellers are leaning towards budget hotel options ranging between
Rs 500 – Rs 3000 per night, followed by 22 per cent willing to spend between Rs 3000 – Rs 5000 per night. There is also a significant rise in homestay preferences, with over 15 per cent respondents opting to book a homestay over a hotel. Only three per cent of the respondents are willing to spend above Rs 10,000 per night on their Kumbh accommodation.
The trend report also went on to reveal that 47 per cent travellers would prefer to receive Kumbh updates through social media posts and video content on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, which is also being driven in a big way through Kumbh promotion campaigns by the government on social media platforms.
Commenting on the above findings, Aloke Bajpai, CEO & co-founder, ixigo said,”Over the years, the mela has evolved into a mega-scale cultural event, set in a combination of trend with tradition.We have seen an average of 30 per cent increase in travel searches from youngsters and working professionals hailing from cities like Pune, Nasik, Chennai, Bhopal and Hyderabad. To cater to this growing demand, we have also launched the Ardh Kumbh information page on our trains app , providing people news updates, transport information, hotel availability, videos, etc. on Ardh Kumbh 2019.”
Ardha Kumbh this year has organised a series of events and activities like Yuva Kumbh aimed towards raising awareness on the upliftment of cultural values and the rich heritage of India amongst the youth. Yuva Kumbh recently saw close to 5,000 youngsters gather together to share their views on the modernisation of education, culture and development of India.