Indian travellers opt for fewer destinations, longer stays in 2025

MUMBAI: Indian leisure travel saw a marked behavioural shift in 2025, with travellers increasingly opting for fewer destinations, longer stays and slower-paced itineraries, according to the Thrillophilia 2025 Multi-Day Travel Index. The findings suggest a maturing travel market in which comfort, execution reliability and experience depth outweighed the appeal of rushed, checklist-style holidays and price-driven decisions, according to the company.The index is based on aggregated and anonymised data culled from over 76000 trips, involving 2.1 lakh tourists who booked multi-day tours through Thrillophilia in 2025 and 2024, the company said. Unlike intent or search-based studies, the index analyses how trips were actually structured and executed, offering insights into real consumer behaviour across age groups, budgets and travel segments, it said.“The year 2025 was the year Indian travellers stopped asking how many places they could cover and started asking how well a trip would run,” said Abhishek Daga, co-founder of Thrillophilia. “Across families, Gen Z, honeymooners and luxury travellers alike, we saw a clear preference for fewer destinations, slower pacing and customised itineraries. Peace of mind replaced price as the real definition of value.”One of the most prominent trends was a shift toward simpler trip design. Single-base itineraries with day excursions increased 36% year-on-year, while multi-city tours involving four or more stops declined 24%. Longer stays per destination and realistic daily schedules became more common, with slower-paced itineraries rising 21% and over-packed schedules falling 17%.Medium-length trips of six to nine nights grew 19%, emerging as the most popular format across families, couples and wellness travellers. Custom and semi-custom itineraries also gained traction, rising 18% and 16% respectively, while large group tours declined 21%, reflecting a move away from fixed-format travel.Domestic destinations continued to anchor multi-day leisure travel. Kerala and Rajasthan remained leading choices, registering growth of 19% and 17% respectively. Emerging regions such as the North East (+31%), Kashmir (+35%) and Ladakh (+31%) saw sharp increases in demand, supported by improved connectivity and growing interest in experience-led travel.Short-haul international travel recorded the fastest outbound growth, particularly destinations within seven hours of flight time. Thailand, Singapore, Abu Dhabi, Vietnam and the Philippines benefited from visa ease, compact routing and high experience density. Long-haul travel remained lower in volume but grew in intent, with destinations such as Japan, Kenya and Iceland seeing increased demand for milestone and experience-driven journeys.The index also highlighted divergent behaviours across traveller segments. Gen Z and young professionals took more frequent trips, with multiple journeys per year rising 51% and short breaks of four to six nights growing 43%. Families prioritised comfort and advance planning, while rushed multi-city formats declined. Honeymooners and luxury travellers increasingly favoured personalised itineraries, privacy-led stays and wellness-focused travel.Across segments and geographies, Thrillophilia noted that well-paced, clearly planned trips recorded higher conversions, fewer cancellations and stronger post-trip satisfaction.The report concludes that Indian travellers are redefining value in leisure travel, moving away from destination count and discounts toward smoother execution and confidence in delivery, signalling a structural shift in travel behaviour.