Indians Choosing Longer Weekend Excursions Over Domestic Destination Holidays As International Vacations Sees Decline

Mumbai: For decades, the aspiration for the burgeoning middle and upper classes was the grand summer abroad – a whirlwind tour of European capitals or South East Asian hubs. However, 2026 has marked a definitive turning point. As India's outbound tourism has fallen substantially this summer season due to the geopolitical tension and steep surge in airfares, the country's domestic tourism is witnessing a strange shift where tourists are preferring weekend excursions over destination-specific vacations.

West Asia war and PM's advisory hit outbound travel

The West Asia war has created a significant impact on the global travel industry as international leisure travel has substantially decreased during the last three months. The impact is also seen in India's outbound tourism market, specifically after prime minister Narendra Modi asked the citizens to avoid unnecessary foreign travel for a year. In April, The Free Press Journal had earlier reported that India's outbound tourism has faced over 60% cancellation since the start of the war.

As outbound travel figures witness a cooling period at the time when demand is usually high, a robust domestic surge is filling the vacuum. While most of the tourists are choosing the usual Indian summer destinations, a sophisticated new trend of weekend excursion is coming to light. While the concept of a weekend getaway or a staycation has been in trend in India for some years now, tourists are now choosing longer staycations at nearby tourist spots over a long vacation to visit a new city.

Five-night bookings at former one-night weekend spots

Usually, a standard weekend getaway for Mumbaikars is a one-night stay to nearby locations like Lonavala, Matheran or Mahabaleshwar, tour operators are observing that people are now booking longer stays at these locations as their annual vacation due to rising prices of travel packages, with airfares and hotel stays getting expensive.

Mumbai-based Kumar Verma, director of Saturday Script travel agency said, “People are booking five-night stays at the same locations where they earlier spent only one night as weekend getaway. Several properties around Pune, Karjat and Panvel are seeing all-time high bookings. This shift is specifically seen because people see value for money against the expensive tour packages to the usual destinations in the North or North-East.”

Families spending big on premium nearby properties

According to tour operators, families are spending a huge sum of money on such weekend excursions by booking luxury and premium properties with unique amenities and adventure activities. ​This trend is not isolated to any single region but more like a nationwide movement. Major urban centres are seeing their surrounding satellite towns transform from day-trip spots into primary holiday destinations.

In the Mumbai-Pune corridor, families are bypassing the airport and heading instead to the Sahyadri ranges. Locations like Lonavala, Matheran, and Mahabaleshwar have seen a sudden increase in three-to-four-night bookings. In the north, Delhi residents are swapping short trips for extended stays in Rishikesh, Mussoorie, and the Kumaon foothills, often opting for heritage stays that allow for remote working followed by deep relaxation.

Delhi residents choose Rishikesh, Mussoorie, Kumaon

Mumbai-based Rachit Shah (42) said that his family was planning to visit Vietnam during the vacation but the rising airfares made them cancel their plan. “We thought about a lot of domestic options but nothing seemed attractive in front of Vietnam. Ultimately, we decided to go for a four-day staycation to Matheran, where we relaxed to the core and also saved ourselves from Mumbai's heat,” he said.

Tour operators observe that the Indian Rupee facing volatility against the US Dollar is another reason people are okay with skipping international travel as a four-night stay in a premier colonial-style suite in a domestic hill station now provides a level of service and comfort that would cost quadruple the price in a European capital.

FAITH says people want real break close to home

The Federation of Associations in Indian Tourism & Hospitality (FAITH)’s general secretary Rajiv Mehra said, “A lot of people are opting for short duration stay just near the city they live in, go to a resort or a hotel, stay there for a few days and come back rejuvenated. The idea is to take a real break from work, take rest, spend time with family and friends and come back completely refreshed.”

He added that while destinations like Jaipur and Agra as well as hill stations like Kashmir, Ooty, Darjeeling, Shimla and Mussoorie are ever green, there are new additions to people's outstation destinations. People are travelling to Shillong and Gangtok in the North East while Kodaikanal and Munnar in the South are also much in demand during the Summer. Spiritual destinations across India are also seeing a renaissance with youngsters making a bee line for these places.

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