More than 70% Indians prefer to book their summer holidays around 30 days before the date of travel. Asian tourist destinations such as Thailand, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and Singapore dominate the total booking share. Goa, Kochi, and Leh are still the most popular places among domestic tourists during summer, with Ahmedabad making a surprising entry on the list this year. These are some of the key findings of an annual survey by Cleartrip, an online travel and leisure platform, which has come out with the Cleartrip Summer Travel Trends 2019 report.

The Summer Travel Trends 2019 report also says share of family holidays remains constant at 22 per cent, while couple holidays have dropped by 4 per cent, even as a distinctive rise is seen in solo trips.

In the report, Cleartrip claims to have analysed data from bookings made by its users for travel between April 1 and May 15, 2019.

The report reiterates the trend of Indians preferring to plan their summer travels well in advance. “Over 70% of Cleartrip users booked their trips more than a month in advance, while those who booked within three to four weeks window before their travel dates accounted for around 10.65%. Spontaneous travel plans were less popular during the summer, accounting for less than one-tenth (8.87%) of the total bookings,” the company said in a statement.

The report also finds that Indians prefer short-haul travel, with Southeast Asia (excluding the SAARC region) and the Middle-East –Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Thailand, and Singapore – proving to be most popular for summer vacations.

When it comes to destinations within India and its closest neighbours, travellers mostly opted for places located close to them. For instance, the report says, people residing in New Delhi preferred Kathmandu and Leh, while those in Bangalore went for Kochi and Hyderabad. Goa continues to be popular on a pan-India level during summers, while Ahmedabad surprisingly marked an entry on the list of most travelled-to domestic destinations in summer 2019.

The report also says the share of family holidays remains constant at 22 per cent, same as 2018, though that of couple holidays booked in the overall bookings shows a dip.

Speaking on the report, Balu Ramachandran, head of air and distribution at Cleartrip, said, “With the summer coinciding with the end of the academic year for the school and college-going crowd across the country, Indians have traditionally associated the season with holiday opportunity. Our latest report is aimed at getting an in-depth understanding of the various trends which dominate holiday bookings made by travellers during this high-volume period.”

He added: “We will be looking at utilising these insights to create more relevant travel solutions for Cleartrip users across the country and to further enhance their holidaying experience through greater personalisation.”