Nearly 9 in 10 Indians Are Planning or Have Booked Their Summer 2026 Holiday with Hidden Gems Topping Their Travel Wishlists
Indian Travellers Are Choosing Smarter Summer Holidays from offbeat destinations to flexible travel dates and last-minute bookings
Despite a backdrop of uncertainty, summer travel is still on for many, with 77% of Indians confident about travelling in the next 3 months. In fact, nearly 9 in 10 Indians are planning or have already booked their Summer 2026 holiday. With only about 38% yet to book their summer holidays, but are actively looking, showing sustained desire for travel despite ongoing uncertainty.
Neel Ghose, Travel and Destinations Expert, Skyscanner India
However, planning is becoming increasingly complex. This evolving approach is being shaped by a few key considerations:
Airfare trends, with nearly half of travellers (48%) factoring in fluctuating flight prices
Overall trip value, as 45% weigh total travel costs more carefully
Travel advisories, influencing decisions for 34% of travellers
Operational disruptions, such as airport closures, are impacting 32% of plans
However, there are early signs of more informed planning, with 58% believing July offers cheaper flights compared to August, highlighting a growing awareness of when to travel for better value.
As travellers navigate these trade-offs, planning is becoming more dynamic than ever. Rather than locking in early, many are keeping an eye on price movements and exploring alternative destinations before committing
Neel Ghose, Travel and Destinations Expert, Skyscanner India, said, “Summer 2026 is shaping up to be one of the most intent-driven travel seasons we’ve seen in India, but what’s changing is how that intent is translating into action. Travellers are not stepping back; they are adapting within constraints. Instead of cancelling, they are staying flexible on where they go, with many willing to switch destinations in response to changing costs and conditions.
We’re also seeing a clear shift in mindset from ‘where everyone is going’ to ‘where else can I go’. This growing openness to alternative and lesser-known destinations signals a more confident and value-aware traveller, one who is more open to switching plans if it improves the overall experience. With these pressures shaping decisions, travellers are looking for smarter ways to unlock value without compromising on the trip. Tools like Skyscanner’s ‘Whole Month’ search are helping travellers make smarter decisions by making it easier to compare options, track fares, and identify better-value travel windows.”
Outsmart Travel Planning Hurdles
As travel intent remains strong, planning is becoming more dynamic. Rather than cancelling trips, travellers are increasingly adapting, switching destinations, adjusting timing, or rethinking how to get the most out of their travel budgets.
Features like Skyscanner’s Price Alerts are helping simplify these decisions by allowing travellers to track fare changes and book when prices are right.
Outsmart Destination Choices and Summer Crowds
This shift is already visible in destination choices and travel pattern:
81% are open to lesser-known destinations
60% are actively seeking quieter, less crowded places
9 in 10 say it is important that their holiday spend benefits local communities and small businesses
A significant behavioural shift is underway, as travellers move away from crowded hotspots towards more meaningful, offbeat and community-driven experiences.
(See the top most popular and cheapest destinations for Summer 2026 below in the appendix.)
Zostel, a hostel network available on Skyscanner, is already seeing this shift in action.
Aviral Gupta, CEO of Zostel and Zo World, said, “At Zostel, we’ve been watching this shift happen in real time. Offbeat destinations across our network grew 88% year-on-year, and a significant 60% of those guests were first-time travellers, many of them from Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities. Smaller-town India is no longer just a backdrop for travel stories; it’s where the story begins. Partnering with Skyscanner on this report only reinforces what we see on the ground every day. The Indian traveller is smarter, bolder, and more curious than ever.”
(See top 10 most popular and cheapest destinations for Summer 2026 below in the appendix.)
Outsmart Flexible Travel Planning
While travel intent remains strong, flexibility is also reshaping how plans are executed. Although 58% of travellers have fixed travel dates due to work or school commitments, 30% are choosing to switch destinations rather than cancel trips, showing how adaptability is becoming central to travel planning.
As travellers balance fixed schedules with evolving preferences, the findings point to a clear shift towards more flexible, value-led decision-making, where being open to alternatives is becoming the defining factor in making summer travel plans work.
Outsmart Group Travel Planning Hurdles
Planning group summer holidays is known to be effortful. On average, Indians spend over 15 hours coordinating a group trip, with nearly half saying it is more stressful than major life events such as moving house or planning a wedding.
The biggest challenge often lies in aligning preferences, budgets and schedules, making group travel one of the most time-consuming parts of the journey. As a result, travellers are increasingly looking for ways to simplify decision-making and reduce friction when planning together. The Skyscanner app has multiple travel planning tools to help travellers compare options and find the best deals available.
Beyond Planning: The Emotional Side of Travel
But beyond the planning, travel remains an emotional experience shaped by the moments, sounds, and memories that stay with us long after the trip ends. Complementing these insights from the Smarter Summer Report, Skyscanner has also curated a summer soundtrack, in collaboration with musician and artist Mayur Jumani, created from familiar sounds of travel, from planes taking off to security check in, luggage trollies, and airport announcements, bringing the rhythm of the journey itself to life.
The campaign will be launched on Skyscanner India’s official Instagram on 1st May.
To explore the full Smarter Summer report and start planning with more options, visit here: Smarter Summer Report
As always, travellers are encouraged to stay informed and keep up to date with local government travel advice before booking and compare live prices as they plan.
About Skyscanner
Skyscanner is a global leader in travel that helps travellers plan and book their trips with ease and confidence. Every month, Skyscanner connects millions of travellers, in 180 countries and 37 languages, to more than 1200 trusted travel partners so they can find flight, hotel or car hire options. Founded in 2003, Skyscanner has offices worldwide, in Europe, Asia-Pacific and North America, where traveller-first innovations are developed and powered by data and insights. Making use of the latest technology, Skyscanner simplifies the complexity of travel and provides honest and transparent solutions, searching around 100 billion prices every day so travellers can be sure they’ve seen the best possible options, all in one place.
Notes to the Editor:
To create our list of the cheapest destinations, we analysed millions of flight bookings to calculate the median return economy fare for all departure cities within each market. The data covers July–August 2026 and excludes promotional fares.
*OnePoll research conducted among 2,000 respondents in India, March 2026.
**Flights data based on returned economy flights.
***All illustrative prices in this release are based on Skyscanner data for the specified period and are subject to change. Live prices for travel on the day of publication may vary.
Appendix
The Top Cheapest Destinations for Summer 2026:
Destination City
Country
Avg. Seat Price in INR
Kozhikode
India
4984.80
Diu
India
6808.84
Puducherry
India
11,435.28
George Town
Malaysia
12,029.24
Jammu
India
13,126.64
Shillong
India
13,751.60
Krabi
Thailand
18,355.72
Phnom Penh
Cambodia
24,599.12
Victoria
Seychelles
46,836.04
Most Popular Destinations for Summer 2026:
Ranking
Destination City
Destination Country
1
Bangkok
Thailand
2
Denpasar
Indonesia
3
Singapore
Singapore
4
Kuala Lumpur
Malaysia
5
Tokyo
Japan
6
Phuket
Thailand
7
Ho Chi Minh City
Vietnam
8
Colombo
Sri Lanka
9
Seoul
South Korea
10
Kathmandu
Nepal
