The 2026 summer travel trends are a departure from last year when travel platforms catered to both short and long-haul international travel, driven by easier visa options, greater flexibility, shorter flight duration, and comparatively lower costs, experts said.
At travel platforms like Cleartrip, Thomas Cook and SOTC, the Philippines has emerged as a popular hotspot among Indians this summer, alongside short-haul sites such as Thailand, Malaysia, Bali, Singapore, Vietnam, Colombo, and Almaty. All of these are mostly 4-5 hours direct flights from Indian cities.
“This marks a shift from last summer, when international demand was led by both short-haul and long-haul destinations,” said a spokesperson for Cleartrip. Cleartrip saw a threefold jump in bookings for the Philippines alone this summer.
Travellers are clearly avoiding the West this summer. “This year, we are seeing a clear pivot towards destinations such as China, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand, alongside closer-to-home favourites like Sri Lanka, Nepal and Bhutan,” said Abraham Alapatt, president and group head, marketing at Thomas Cook (India) and SOTC Travel.
Travel platforms are seeing a spike in queries on flexible travel options, insurance, and alternative routing support.
“High airfares and airspace rerouting have softened bookings for traditional long-haul western routes like Europe by nearly 15% to 20% this season,” said Rikant Pittie, cofounder and CEO at EaseMyTrip.New Interests
Instead of cancelling plans, families are increasingly shifting towards visa-friendly, short- to medium-haul destinations like Japan and Vietnam, with cities such as Tokyo and Busan witnessing nearly 90-95% spike in search interest this summer, he said.
Back home, Jaisalmer has emerged as one of the strongest domestic performers with nearly a 300% surge in bookings on the Cleartrip platform. Destinations in the Northeast are continuing to see double-digit growth. Travel companies are also seeing rising interest in locations such as Jaipur, Udaipur, Lucknow, Varanasi, Rishikesh, and Kozhikode.
“This is quite different from last year when calmer places like Leh (11x), Bhimtal (7x), Dharamshala (7x), and Dalhousie (6x) saw massive spikes,” said the Cleartrip spokesperson.
For Thomas Cook and SOTC, spiritual tourism remains a key driver of demand domestically. These companies are seeing strong interest in circuits such as Char Dham, as well as Ayodhya, Varanasi, and the Ramayana Trail in Sri Lanka. Other domestic destinations such as Kashmir, Leh-Ladakh, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, the Andamans, and Kerala continue to be popular choices for summer travel, experts said.
The hills in the north are growing in popularity to the extent that many travellers find themselves stuck in traffic jams stretching for several kilometres, with social media flooded with images of the growing crowds.
This summer, Goa is also getting a favourable response from visitors, according to Easemytrip. The travel platform is experiencing a 60% surge in domestic tour searches and a 20-22% rise in average domestic tour spending.
According to Rishabh Agarwal, cofounder and chief operating officer at corporate travel tech startup Ziptrrip, domestic locations such as Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Kerala, Goa, and the Northeast remain strong summer performers. “We are also seeing increasing demand for premium staycations, wellness retreats, wildlife experiences, and short-duration leisure trips closer to major metro cities,” he said.
Corporate professionals are increasingly combining leisure with the flexibility of remote work, according to Agarwal.