BANGALORE, October 11 — A surge in festive travel bookings for the final quarter of 2026 has been reported by Zostel, with more than one in four travellers booking multiple trips between October and December 2025. The trend, revealed in the Zostel Festive Travel Pulse 2026, shows bookings for the period already 50% ahead of last year. The report, released on October 9, tracks travel patterns from Navratri and Durga Puja to Diwali, Christmas, and New Year.
November bookings are already up 43% compared with the same point last year, suggesting a rise in festive breaks. The average festive stay lasted just two nights, with spontaneous bookings shaping travel plans.
Three in ten travellers booked on the day of check-in, six in ten made reservations within three days, and seven in ten booked within a week. Fewer than one in ten planned their trips more than a month ahead. The most booked destinations for the 2026 festive season so far are Hampi, Gokarna, Varkala, Rishikesh, and Jaipur, with the Himalayas showing the biggest growth.
The figures compare bookings made so far for October to December 2026 with bookings at the same point last year. Nearly seven in ten festive travellers were under 30, with the 25 to 29 age group accounting for 44% of guests.
Solo bookings made up more than half of all reservations, while three in ten bookings were for pairs and one in seven involved groups of three or more. Women accounted for more than one in five guests. Delhi NCR, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Pune, and Hyderabad were the leading source cities.
Last year’s Dussehra and Gandhi Jayanti long weekend marked October’s peak. November had no single major spike, with Saturdays consistently drawing bookings. The Christmas and New Year week was the busiest period of the quarter, and December 25 recorded nearly 40% more check-ins than an average day.
Zo Trips, the group’s travel experiences business, hosted more than 1,500 travellers across 116 batches during the festive quarter.
