Monsoon travel continues to drive demand for pilgrimage, hill and leisure bus routes across India (Photo: Flixbus)
Bus mobility platform FlixBus says India’s monsoon travel landscape is showing distinct regional patterns, with searches on the Delhi-Haridwar corridor rising 150 pc year-on-year in July and Bengaluru-Goa searches increasing 46 pc from May to June this year, reflecting continued demand for pilgrimage, hill and leisure travel despite the rainy season.
In a press statement, Flixbus says that in North India, the Sawan season and Kanwar Yatra are contributing to increased movement towards pilgrimage destinations, while monsoon conditions are also driving interest in hill getaways.
According to the statement, the Delhi-Katra corridor also recorded a 28 pc YoY increase in searches, while searches for Delhi-Dharamshala rose 20 pc YoY in July, indicating continued demand for pilgrimage and monsoon hill travel. Parts of Rajasthan, including Jaipur and Udaipur, also continue to attract travellers seeking short leisure and heritage breaks during the season.
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Southern India, meanwhile, has continued to see relatively resilient intercity movement, with Tier 1-to-Tier 1 routes maintaining steady travel. Searches on the Bengaluru-Chennai corridor increased 25 pc from May to June of this year, reflecting continued movement between the two major urban centres.
Surya Khurana
Monsoon conditions have also not significantly dampened leisure travel from the South. The Bengaluru-Goa corridor recorded a 46 pc increase in searches from May to June, pointing to continued interest in shorter leisure trips to Goa, including rain-washed landscapes, relaxed itineraries, food and cultural experiences.
“The monsoon season gives us an interesting window into how Indian travellers are increasingly making their journeys more purposeful and experience-led. What is particularly interesting is the regional diversity in these choices, with travel preferences shaped by local occasions, weather and the kind of experience travellers are looking for. With FlixBus’s intercity network connecting hundreds of cities, we are able to see these shifts across destinations and use these insights to better understand where travellers want to go and the kinds of journeys they are choosing,” says Surya Khurana, Managing Director, FlixBus India.
