Sun and sand: Goa a hot destination for Indians on Easter weekend

There has been an almost 200 % increase in travel searches for the upcoming Easter weekend compared to last year, with much of this trend driven by beach destination Goa.

Goa is the most preferred destination for people to spend their Easter weekend in India, indicates a report.

This year, Easter is on April 1. Fare aggregator and travel metasearch engine KAYAK compared last year’s data with this year’s searches for the Easter weekend. There has been an almost 200 % increase in travel searches for the upcoming Easter weekend compared to last year, with much of this trend driven by beach destination Goa, read a statement.

The coastal state has seen a massive increase of 1,655 % this year in travel searches, which has seen it jump up seven places to become the overall top destination for Indians this Easter, followed by Bangkok.

This year’s third-most popular destination, Hong Kong is another city experiencing a significant rise in Easter travel searches, with an increase of 1,349 %.

Singapore is also gaining traction for those looking at international travel. Destinations like Toronto, San Francisco and New York all feature in the top 10 destinations for the upcoming holiday weekend, indicating that Indians are not afraid to spend for long-haul flights.

Noting a price drop in certain destinations, the report said Melbourne, Goa, Sydney and Male are some of the destinations seeing drops, ranging around a decrease of 20%.

Abhijit Mishra, Director, India and Middle East of KAYAK said: “We all know how much love Indians have for beach getaways, and this year is no exception. Perhaps more surprising are the amount of holidaymakers using the Easter holidays as a chance to travel great distances, with San Francisco, Toronto and New York all amongst the top-searched Easter destinations this year.”