The ongoing Mahakumbh Mela (Mahakumbh Fair) in Prayagraj has led to a surge in religious travel in India. On Tuesday alone, over 35 million people attended the fair with international attendees, including actor Richard Gere, American filmmaker David Lynch, and philanthropist Laurene Powell Jobs.
Mahakumbh 2025, which started on January 13, will conclude on February 26. According to data provided by online travel agency Ixigo, the flight bookings to Prayagraj during this period have recorded a 162% year-on-year increase. Nearby Varanasi has also witnessed a 127% increase in flight bookings.
The surge in bookings is despite a significant increase in airfares as compared to last year. The price of the Bengaluru-Prayagraj route has increased nearly 90%, while the Ahmedabad-Prayagraj route fares increased by 41%, Ixigo showed.
The Role of Aviation: Air India on Tuesday announced it will temporarily operate daily flights between Delhi and Prayagraj to meet this demand.
“This year, aviation is playing a pivotal role in religious tourism, with Prayagraj now connected to over 20 destinations through direct and one-stop flights, compared to just one during the last Kumbh. One-way airfares from major metros to Prayagraj and surrounding airports are averaging between INR 7,000-10,000 ($80-120) if booked 30 days in advance. However, on certain routes like Bhopal-Prayagraj, fares are reaching up to INR 17,000 ($200) one way due to peak demand and limited flight availability,” said group CEO Aloke Bajpai.
Online travel company MakeMyTrip’s co-founder and group CEO Rajesh Magow also shared the travel trends noticed by his platform. “Searches for Prayagraj on MakeMyTrip have surged by over 23 times year-on-year as devotees from across India plan their journey to Maha Kumbh. Travel demand is particularly high during the event’s opening and closing week. Tent accommodations have also witnessed strong demand,” he said.
What’s Speacial About This Year: The 2025 Mahakumbh is the special edition of the 12-yearly Kumbh Fair and is held every 144 years. While the Kumbh Fair is always a major attraction among devotees, this edition is especially witnessing an influx of tourists.
Train and bus bookings have also surged. “Train bookings to Prayagraj have observed a 187% year-on-year surge. Solo travellers account for 57% of the total bookings to Prayagraj, out of which 39% are female solo travellers, while group bookings stand at 43%,” said Dinesh Kumar Kotha, CEO of Ixigo Trains and ConfirmTkt.
Bus ticketing platform AbhiBus also noted a 220% hike in bookings for Prayagraj for the first day of Mahakumbh alone as compared to the city’s overall bus bookings during the festive season in October last year.
Travel Players Up the Ante: In November last year, the Uttar Pradesh Tourism Department said it expects the fair to attract a gathering of 400 million visitors.
Cab aggregator Uber has also teamed up with Airports Authority of India at Prayagraj Airport for dedicated pickup zones at the airport and providing on-ground assistance along with signs leading to the pickup area.
Fintech company Paytm has announced discounts bus, flight, and train bookings to Prayagraj made through Paytm Travel.
Business Travel Platform Velocity.Travel Secures Funding
Business travel platform Velocity.travel has raised funding from New York-based angel investor Raj Shah at a valuation of $10 million. The funds will support the launch of its new Zippy platform in April 2025, designed to simplify corporate travel and lifestyle management globally.
Founded in 2013, wtfares started as a small startup offering free flight cancellations. Over time, it expanded into AI-powered holiday planning and, in 2023, launched Velocity.travel to address business travel challenges. The company now manages travel for over 200 global enterprises, including big names like Haldirams and Clevertap.
Set to debut in early 2025, Zippy aims to offer a one-stop solution for businesses and frequent travelers, a release from the company said. It will offer services like booking flights, hotels, and car rentals, managing events, and providing travel insights to save costs and improve efficiency.
“Indian business travel today is where leisure travel was in 2004, stuck offline, but on the brink of a digital revolution with technology driving efficiency, compliance, and hyper-personalization. And with the introduction of Zippy, we’re taking this transformation a step further, reimagining what concierge services can be for frequent travelers and enterprises alike,” said CEO Varun Sarda.
Goa Tourism On Taxi Complaints from Tourists
Goa Tourism has been facing flak recently for dwindling tourism, especially from international visitors. Skift had previously reported that after Indian legal entrepreneur Ramanuj Mukherjee spoke about “exploitation of tourists” in the coastal state on social media in November, several users shared their own experiences.
The biggest complaint was around taxis, Goa had banned ride hailing services Uber and India-based Ola under pressure from local cab operators. As a result, tourists complained about being charged exorbitant rates for cab rides.
In a press conference on Monday, Goa tourism minister Rohan Khaunte has spoken on the issue, saying that the government has talked with cab operators regarding the issues faced by the tourists.
He said Goa wants to digitize all aspects of travel. “We have the Goa Miles app for taxis. As we recognize that certain pockets have complaints about taxis, we would also like to highlight that taxi drivers traditionally have been our ambassadors in terms of long-term tourists who have been coming every year. So that relationship management only needs to be improved in certain areas, which we have started doing with the adaptability of technology.”
IHG Brings Holiday Inn Brand to Puri
IHG Hotels and Resorts has signed a Holiday Inn-branded hotel in the religious city of Puri. The 100-key hotel is set to open in 2028.
The property is aimed to capitalize on the religious travel to the city, the beachgoers, as well as the destination events business.
Sudeep Jain, managing director for South West Asia, said, “In recent years, Puri has seen a notable increase in tourist arrivals, emerging as a sought-after destination for meetings, incentives, conferences, and exhibitions (MICE) and weddings, particularly for travellers from West Bengal and neighbouring states.” The city attracts more than 2 million tourists every year due to it being home to the Jagannath Temple.
Alliance Air Announces New Flights from Imphal
Regional airline Alliance Air has announced new flight services connecting Imphal in Manipur to Guwahati, Kolkata, and Dimapur starting Wednesday. The move is aimed to bolster the air connectivity in the Northeast region of India.
Guwahati in Assam is a key hub in the Northeast region, while Kolkata is a major airport connecting the eastern part of the country with the rest of the country. Through this move, the government-run airline is looking to strengthen connection within Northeast India.
There is a focus on developing the Northeast region as a tourism destination, with initiatives such as Swadesh Darshan to develop infrastructure. The aim is to attract domestic as well as international tourists. Last month, the government allocated INR 8 billion ($92.6 million) for the development of eight lesser known tourist spots across six Northeastern states.
The focus on the region seems to be working. In the first quarter of 2024, Sikkim witnessed record tourist footfall of over 290,000, of which nearly 31,000 were international visitors. The 2025 Travel Trends report by search aggregator Skyscanner revealed that the interest of Indians to travel to Shillong in Meghalaya in 2024 increased by over 800% compared to the year before.
Cleartrip’s New Campaign with Author Chetan Bhagat
Online travel company Cleartrip has partnered with author Chetan Bhagat for a unique campaign: a book of travel hacks. “Genius Travel Discount Hacks by a Genius” is a self-help guide that aims to arm users with hacks to save on their travel bookings using Cleartrip’s features for the SuperCoins reward program.
“This campaign highlights how our SuperCoins feature is a straightforward way to avail yourself of discounts. The book serves as a humorous guide for those still seeking other ways to save on travel,” Tavleen Bhatia, chief marketing officer at Cleartrip, said.
Indian travelers are traveling more now, and are increasing their spends. However, they continue to be budget conscious travelers. Online visa application platform Atlys had last year revealed that young Indians were preferring to travel in the off-peak season to avoid crowds and reduce costs.
Skyscanner had also last year shared that about 20% young Indian travelers used schemes such as buy-now-pay-later while booking their trips, and over 50% of the youth preferred to use their own money including income and personal savings to travel.