Travel patterns that defined 2025 and the marketing strategies that followed

If you asked an Indian traveller in 2023 what their year looked like, they might have described a long summer vacation and perhaps a frantic Diwali getaway. Ask them the same question in December 2025, and the answer is radically different. The calendar has fractured. The 'annual leave' block has dissolved. In its place is a continuous, fluid rhythm of movement that has fundamentally reshaped the hospitality and aviation industries.

2025 will likely be remembered as the year travel stopped being an event and became a lifestyle. The data paints a picture of a population in hyper-motion. According to Scapia's 2025 Travel Insights, flight bookings grew 5x this year, while accommodation stays skyrocketed by 8-9x compared to previous baselines. But the most telling statistic isn't just the volume; it's the velocity and the reach. Indian travellers spent in 113 currencies across 174 countries this year alone, signalling a massive expansion in global footprint.

The traditional model of the single, monolithic annual vacation has officially fractured. It has been replaced by a 'continuous mindset' where travellers are stitching together weekends, work trips, and 'gig trips' into a lifestyle of constant movement. Flight bookings grew exponentially, not because more people are flying once, but because the same people are flying constantly. As we close the year, the industry finds itself catering to a consumer who is less of a 'tourist' and more of a 'temporary local,' seeking immersion over sightseeing and flexibility over luxury.

A 48-hour economy

The most immediate impact of this behavioral shift has been on the booking window and duration of trips. The 'long weekend' has evolved from a corporate perk into a critical economic pillar for the travel industry.

Manmeet Ahluwalia, CMO of EaseMyTrip, notes that 2025 was defined by airline disruptions to tightening budgets and shifting lifestyle priorities. He identifies the single biggest consumer shift as the rise of value-driven, short-haul, highly intentional travel.
Ahluwalia points out that around 50-55% of stays were for 2-3 nights, along with a 20% YoY surge in mid-range and affordable stays. He notes there has been an improvement in planning among travellers, with the average booking window extending to around 15-20 days.

"Short-haul and quick-break destinations dominated, and over 60% of bookings came via mobile, highlighting faster, convenience-led decision cycles," says Ahluwalia. He adds that travellers also became more price-conscious, with higher usage of fare alerts, deals, and flexible options.

While the industry sees a cultural shift toward community-led hospitality, the data confirms a distinct move toward value-driven accommodation. Ahluwalia reports a '20% YoY surge in mid-range and affordable stays'. This statistical spike aligns with the behavior of younger demographics who are actively deprioritising luxury lodging in favor of frequent, cost-effective trips. For this generation, the savings on a bed are immediately reinvested into the experience, funding the 50-55% of stays that are now strictly short-haul, 2-3 night getaways.

The changing traveller and marketing strategy that fits

While frequency is up across the board, the market has split into distinct cohorts with vastly different needs. On one end, there is the surge of first-time travellers from Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities, where international flight bookings by women have tripled. On the other, there is the mature, seasoned traveller in the metros who is done with sightseeing and demands depth.

Abraham Alapatt, President & Group Head - Marketing, Service Quality, Value Added Services & Innovation at Thomas Cook (India) Limited and SOTC Travel, argues that a one-size-fits-all strategy is now obsolete. 

"From a marketing lens, 2025 was defined by the pace of rapid evolution in Indian customer behaviour, reinforcing that a one-size-fits-all travel strategy no longer works," Alapatt says.

He explains that growth is coming from two very different customer cohorts. While first-timers seek hand-holding and guidance as they take their first trips overseas, there is also a growing tribe of experienced, mature travellers seeking depth rather than width and local, unique experiences as they travel.

This polarisation requires a nuanced allocation of resources. Brands cannot simply run the same ad in Mumbai as they do in Jaipur.

Alapatt notes that this directly influenced how they invested time and resources. He explains that marketing efforts in smaller towns focused on access, discovery and trust-building, while metros saw greater emphasis on retention, premiumisation and deeper engagement. 

"We doubled down on hyper-segmented content, vernacular video communication, and 'phygital' journeys for high-volume emerging markets, while simultaneously investing in deeper storytelling, premium product experiences, and personalised engagement for metro customers," says Alapatt.

Rise of snackable content

With the average traveller making faster decisions, often on mobile screens, the margin for error has shrunk. However, the complexity of international travel, visas, forex, regulations, remains. This has birthed the ‘phygital’ model, blending digital speed with human reassurance.

Alapatt emphasises that in 2025, travellers expected clarity, convenience and value upfront. "What truly delivered the highest impact was our 'phygital' model: digital discovery through targeted, snackable content combined with human reassurance through our agents, enabling us to address both aspiration and value seamlessly," says Alapatt. "This dual‑strategy approach—high‑velocity digital for inspiration and high‑touch servicing for conversion—is what drove our strongest ROI this year."

For EaseMyTrip, this digital acceleration meant looking beyond standard channels. Ahluwalia notes that it wasn't a single channel that drove impact but a well-orchestrated marketing mix. "Our strong app ecosystem, CRM, and owned channels helped us nurture repeat users through intelligent personalisation, price alerts, loyalty benefits, and targeted deals," says Ahluwalia. He adds that to further boost customer retention and drive growth, they have collaborated with platforms like MoEngage, which helped in transitioning from broad-based digital communication to deeply personalised, one-to-one traveller engagement at scale.

Tier 2 takeover and the female traveller

Perhaps the most culturally significant shift of 2025 is the changing face of the Indian traveller. The geography of aspiration has expanded dramatically.

Ahluwalia reports that in 2025, tier II and III markets became critical growth engines for online travel, with non-metro bookings up by around 10% year-on-year as digital penetration and travel aspiration surged beyond urban hubs.

But the real story within these numbers is the gender shift. "Additionally, international flight bookings by women tripled in tier-II cities, driving over 2X growth," Ahluwalia notes. This surge in female mobility is reshaping marketing narratives, forcing brands to move away from generic campaigns.

Ahluwalia explains that as they entered new markets, their strategy shifted from broad awareness-led messaging to more localised, insight-driven communication across digital, partnerships, and on-ground activations. "Hyperlocal content, regional influencers, and performance-led channels worked well in building trust and driving adoption, while generic, one-size-fits-all campaigns delivered limited traction and were quickly phased out," says Ahluwalia.

Alapatt echoes this, highlighting that for Thomas Cook, the strategy pivoted toward a hyperlocal, trust-led marketing approach. He notes they moved from just focusing on broad national communication to deeply contextual, vernacular storytelling supported by region‑specific creatives and local influencers, while shifting their channel mix toward video-first formats on WhatsApp, Instagram, and YouTube. "What consistently worked was authenticity—content created for local audiences, not merely translated for them—along with hybrid 'digital + human' servicing," says Alapatt.

The currency of trust

With high frequency comes high anxiety. In a world of tightening budgets and global volatility, the biggest marketing challenge of 2025 wasn't inspiration; it was reassurance.

Alapatt describes the 2025 environment as one of uncertainty without dampening travel intent. He explains that global developments, operational disruptions and external shocks created hesitation, even as the desire to travel remained strong. "This required a shift in campaign thinking from destination-led inspiration to reassurance-led communication which was more empathetic, flexible and closely tied to real consumer anxieties," says Alapatt.

This insight led to product innovation. Alapatt explains that it led to the creation of TravSure, which he says is a first-of-its-kind safe travel program designed to offer today's travellers a sense of comfort and security. "Unlike traditional travel insurance policies that exclude war-like or force majeure scenarios, TravSure filled this critical gap, safeguarding customers against disruptions such as flight suspensions, political unrest or airspace closures," says Alapatt.

EaseMyTrip faced similar headwinds with price-conscious consumers. In 2025, their main marketing challenge was adjusting to fast-changing travel demand. Ahluwalia notes that travellers were more price-conscious, booking closer to their travel dates, comparing deals actively, and looking for better value. Instead of heavy, single-bet bursts, they moved toward always-on, highly adaptive marketing. "We doubled down on our app, CRM, and loyalty ecosystem to nurture repeat users, [and] strengthened price-assurance and storytelling to build trust," says Ahluwalia.

The future

As the industry looks toward 2026, the focus is shifting from stabilizing the post-pandemic recovery to engineering the next phase of growth. The consensus among leaders is that technology will cease to be a novelty and become the invisible engine of personalization.

Ahluwalia predicts that mobile-first experiences will dominate. "In the coming year, our focus will be to lead with hyper-personalisation driven by AI and mobile optimisation, unlocking deeper engagement and conversion across diverse traveller segments," he says. "We expect mobile-first experiences to dominate, as mobile devices now account for over half of traffic and bookings, while AI tools and personalised recommendations continue reshaping the customer journey."

Alapatt agrees, noting that the goal is to remain relevant in a fragmented ecosystem. He explains that it would be to stay relentlessly customer-led in an increasingly fragmented ecosystem. As AI reshapes how travellers search, discover and decide through different platforms, the focus will be on remaining discoverable, relevant and useful across new interfaces. "The priority will be to use technology not as a novelty, but as an enabler to simplify complexity, reduce friction and build long-term trust," says Alapatt.

The macro view

While the marketing leaders navigate the day-to-day tactics, the macro view of 2025 reveals a fundamental psychological shift in the Indian consumer.

Anil Goteti, Founder & CEO of Scapia, describes this in the company's annual insights as a transition from episodic to habitual consumption. He states that travel in India has shifted from being occasional to habitual, with people no longer waiting for one big holiday but weaving multiple, shorter trips into their year, increasingly anchored around experiences that matter to them. "Travel has become a continuous mindset - many are already thinking about the next journey while still on the current one," says Goteti. He notes that this shift is now playing out globally: in 2025, Scapia travellers visited 174 countries, reflecting how wide and ambitious India's travel aspirations have become. "The Indian traveller today is in constant motion, and this momentum across domestic and international travel is only accelerating," says Goteti.

However, this rapid acceleration has not been without its structural challenges. The industry has had to grapple with workforce shortages and the need to rapidly upskill a new generation of hospitality professionals to meet these evolving demands.

Jyoti Mayal, Chairperson of the Tourism & Hospitality Skill Council (THSC), emphasises that while the demand is robust, the supply side requires constant fortification. "2025 was a defining year for Indian tourism one where resilience met transformation," says Mayal. She notes that their focus on building a skilled workforce, strengthening domestic circuits, and enhancing service quality has brought the sector to a much stronger and future-ready position. "At the same time, better-aligned tourism and aviation policies, along with stronger public private partnership models with the government, are essential to sustain growth," says Mayal.

Mayal's outlook for the coming year is one of cautious optimism, grounded in the need for structural reform. She explains that to fully leverage the opportunities ahead, the industry must bridge skill gaps, adopt technology with agility, and strengthen collaboration between industry and training institutions. "2026 will be a year of consolidation and a year of possibilities," Mayal concludes.

In 2025, Indians proved they could travel anywhere, anytime. The 'check-box' style of tourism is fading, replaced by a sophisticated, high-frequency "experience economy" and marketing strategy is following these travellers. As the industry moves into 2026, the question is no longer "Where are you going?" but "Who will you be when you get there?" The hostels are booked, the flight alerts are set, and the habitual traveller is already packing for the next trip.