Growing trend: Indian travelers embrace festival-centric trips fueled by social media

Time of India

a day ago

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Social media content and FOMO — fear of missing out — is driving growth of trips centred around festivals and carnivals.From Germany's Oktoberfest to music and cultural events closer home, a growing number of Indian travellers are choosing trips linked to carnivals and festivals, according to travel companies and festival organisers.Movie moments such as Bollywood film Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara's La Tomatina festival song, and Instagram's travel reels treading the routes less explored are catching the fancy of millennial and Gen Z travellers and fuelling this trend.Govind Gaur, CEO of WanderOn, a D2C travel-tech company, said travellers want to immerse themselves in cultural moments, and social media allure is propelling this demand. 'We have introduced a 'travel for a reason' calendar, with two or three carefully selected festivals and seasonal experiences available each month,' he said.For now, it seems, Indian travellers are loving it.Travel companies reckon this reflects a broader trend where travel is no longer confined to specific seasons but driven by newer reasons all yearround.To tap into this demand, they have curated a diverse portfolio of festival-led holidays — spanning the most celebrated festivals to lesser known events in India and around the world.Romil Pant, executive vice-president and head of holidays at Thomas Cook (India) said besides attending festivals, the company's itineraries also incorporate local crafts, gastronomy and cultural explorations in the packages.SOTC's festival travel portfolio spans global celebrations like Mardi Gras, La Tomatina, Oktoberfest and Rio Carnival, as well as Indian festivals like Rann Utsav and Goa Carnival.SD Nandakumar, president and country head for holidays and corporate tours at the company, said festival tourism has evolved into a major travel driver because today's travellers seem eager to be part of these high-energy cultural moments.'From the fun waterfights of Thailand's Songkran Festival — often compared to our Holi to Japan's breathtaking Sapporo Snow Festival with its giant ice sculptures, each event delivers powerful emotion and cultural immersion,' he reckons, adding, 'What's encouraging is the growing interest not just from metro cities, but also from India's tier-two and tier-three markets.'Visitor footfalls to the Rann Utsav festival, held annually in the stunning white desert of Kutch in Gujarat, reached around 7,42,000 in FY24, up from 5,00,000 in FY23. Last year's traveller numbers more than doubled those recorded in FY22 — 3,50,000. Bhavik Sheth, chief operating officer of Evoke Experiences, the operator and organiser of Rann Utsav, which works as a public-private partnership model with Gujarat Tourism, says visitor footfalls could cross one million this year, based on advance booking trends.'Tent occupancy, particularly in premium categories, has improved year-on-year, with most high-demand dates like full-moon nights and festive weekends getting fully booked well in advance — up to four weeks earlier than in previous years,' said Sheth.He said international and group bookings have also shown upward trends, with international guests increasing by 15%, and group bookings now accounting for 35% of total reservations. To meet this growing demand, tent city capacity has been expanded to over 50 tents this year.Govind Gaur, CEO of WanderOn, a D2C travel-tech company, said the Ziro Music Festival in Arunachal Pradesh is growing in popularity, having seen a 60% growth in interest for the company, with trip slots filling up well in advance.Gaur said the appeal lies not just in the music, but in the destination as well, which is remote, scenic, and deeply rooted in tribal culture.The festival promotes indigenous tribes and artists from Indias Northeast, besides showcasing Indian and global independent music.Promoted as an eco-friendly, outdoor festival, it was founded in 2012 by entrepreneur Bobby Hano and Menwhopause guitarist Anup Kutty, and has featured a mix of artists ranging from Indus Creed to Rewben Mashangva.Oktoberfest, the annual beer festival in Munich, Germany, touted as the world's largest folk festival, has also transformed from attracting niche curiosity for Indian travellers to being a major draw for everybody.As per the official Oktoberfest website, most of the international guests last year came from the US, UK, France, Switzerland, Austria, Poland, Spain, Netherlands, and 'for the first time, increasingly from India'."We have observed a 25% year-on-year increase in bookings for this event, especially among solo travellers,' Gaur added. Adotrip.com founder and CEO Vikas Katoch also confirmed that Oktoberfest is one of the most demanded international festive tours. The popularity of Oktoberfest may also be topped up by the annual offers and promotions launched around the festival dates by beer chains such as The Beer Café, which hosted an OktoBEERfest party throughout October last year, featuring special German beers and platters.Every year, revellers in Spain turn the small town of Buñol into a tomato-splattered playground. Gaur said WanderOn has recently launched a package specifically focused on the La Tomatina festival, which is in 'significant' demand, and that it is driven by newly married couples and millennials.It helps that travellers can also explore Valencia's culinary scene and sample local dishes like paella and tapas. Meanwhile Adotrip also flew a 15-member group to Hyderabad for the Toma Terra event on May 11, dubbed as India's first tomato festival.For the upcoming Rio de Janeiro Carnival in 2026, Adotrip.com has already received over 500 queries, said Katoch. The Rio Carnival is scheduled from February 13- 18 next year and is expected to draw large crowds.Earlier, top Samba schools would perform the Samba on the streets of Rio. But, in the 1980s, Rio officials and organisers realised a change was in order, and in 1984, they constructed the Sambadrome Marques de Sapucai — a purposebuilt parade area for the comfort of tourists and to generate greater revenue through tickets. The Sambadrome was renovated in 2012. The stadium can seat over 80,000 visitors and accommodate 5,000 participants through the wide Marques de Sapucai Avenue.Adotrip organised a package for close to 30 travellers for the Bir Music Festival in Himachal Pradesh this year. The 13th season of the festival will be held from December 26-27 this year. As per the official website, the festival features 48 hours of non-stop music, has hosted 13,000 guests, and has seen performances by 500 artistes.Incidentally, foreign tourists are also coming to India to check out the local scene. Goa Tourism said this year's Goa Carnival in March attracted a 'significant' number of international tourists. The Carnival included 'familyfriendly' events, street plays, and children's parades. The festival's signature float parade set off from Panjim, continuing through Mapusa, Morjim, Margao and Vasco. Elaborately decorated floats showcased Goa's folklore, traditions and modern artistic expressions.Travel companies said travellers are also taking a fancy to Mardi Gras celebrations in New Orleans, US, which has jazz, masquerades and Creole flavours on offer. French for 'Fat Tuesday', Mardi Gras is celebrated globally, but the most extensive celebrations take place in New Orleans. The festival is popular for its elaborate parades, costumes and food feasts, symbolising indulgence before the fasting period begins.In 2024, Vietnam welcomed about 5,00,000 Indian tourists, a 297% jump compared to pre-pandemic levels. The lantern festival in Hoi An is a major draw and lights up the ancient town. The festival is held on the 14th day of the lunar month when the moon is at its fullest and brightest.Songkran brings with it water fights, temple visits and lots of Thai street food. Akin to Holi, Sonkran, marking the Thai new year, is celebrated with families and locals engaging in playful water fights, symbolising the washing away of past year's troubles. To be held next year from April 13- 15, the festival will also include cultural performances, beauty contests, sand sculpture contests, concerts and colourful processions. Companies are expecting numbers to go up further next year considering Thailand's growing popularity, budget friendly airfares, and easy entry requirements.