Booking.com reveals the top travel dreams of a nation in waiting

Travel might be on pause in these unprecedented times, but data from Booking.com reveals that this hasn’t stopped people across the country from dreaming about the possibilities. Delving into the millions of travel wish lists created by hopeful travellers on its platform over the last two months, with properties wish listed across over 100,000 different destinations since the start of March, the digital travel leader Booking.com shares the top destinations on peoples’ minds as they wait for when the time is right to travel again.

While international destinations like Dubai, Bali, Bangkok, Istanbul and London continue to inspire travel dreams for Indians, it’s no surprise that in-country stays feature in nearly 67% of all those wish listed by Indians during this time of uncertainty, a jump from the same time last year when domestic properties accounted for 48% of those wish listed. (Wish lists refer to the number of times that users click the heart button on a particular property on Booking.com)

Since the start of March, the top wish-listed domestic destinations for Indians are Mumbai, Goa, New Delhi, Lonavala and Bengaluru, suggesting that everyone’s been dreaming of sunshine and beaches, alongside the stimulation of the big city after weeks of confinement.

When it comes to topmost wish-listed international destinations featuring in Indian travel dreams, it’s a similar picture with island and beach destinations taking centre stage alongside major metropolitan cities. Dubai tops the list, followed by Ubud (Bali), Bangkok (Thailand), Istanbul (Turkey) and London (UK), while Seminyak (Bali), North Male Atoll (Maldives) and Singapore are next in line.

When it comes to global travellers, New Delhi, Mumbai, Calangute (Goa), Jaipur and Bengaluru are the top 5 destinations in India with the most wish listings during March and April 2020.

Dreaming about a change in scenery and the opportunity to enjoy a stay experience outside of their own home, the most wish-listed types of places to stay for Indian travellers are hotels, resorts, guest houses, apartments and villas. Hotels account for nearly 42% of all properties wish listed by Indians over the last two months whereas resorts count for 18% which is more than the global average of 6%.

Commenting on the wish lists and the travel dreams, Ritu Mehrotra, Country Manager, India, Sri Lanka and Maldives at Booking.com “These are unprecedented and challenging times in which safety remains the top priority. We also know that in such times, dreaming about experiencing the world again has immense power to fire our imaginations and keep spirits high. It’s amazing to see the array of different travel experiences our customers have been busy dreaming about while they wait for the opportunity to travel again. Building a wish list on Booking.com is an inspirational way for everyone to start dreaming about travel again, and we are committed to making it easy for them to turn those dreams into reality when the time is right.”

*Methodology: based on comparing wish list data on Booking.com between March and April 2020 to the same months in 2019. Customers on Booking.com can wish list properties by clicking the ‘heart’ button present on every property’s listing on the platform.