Road trips, short breaks drive Republic Day weekend travel demand

Ahmedabad: The Republic Day long weekend triggered a modest uptick in leisure travel. According to travel portals, airfares remained broadly stable, though last-minute tickets proved expensive, especially on popular routes. Average return fares for the weekend stood at around Rs 20,500 for Goa, Rs 13,800 for Mumbai, Rs 15,300 for Delhi, Rs 18,000 for Chandigarh, Rs 17,000 for Bengaluru, and Rs 22,000 for Pune for direct flights from Ahmedabad.
"While there wasn't a dramatic surge in airfares, travellers booking closer to departure paid a premium," said Ankit Bajaj, a travel industry expert. "Demand is being driven more by spontaneous, short-duration breaks rather than carefully planned holidays."Across Gujarat, hotels reported high occupancy levels, particularly in leisure destinations such as Gir, Polo Forest, Daman and Diu, and Saputara. A spillover effect was also visible in nearby tourist hubs, including Udaipur, Mount Abu, Banswara and Jawai.Travel patterns this year showed a strong preference for road travel, with families and small groups opting for drivable destinations over flights. "Another noticeable trend is that migrant professionals working in Gujarat are travelling back to their home cities for the extended weekend. Only a small segment of travellers chose to club additional leave days, stretching the break to 5 or 6 days and heading towards hill destinations in Himachal Pradesh. Such extended plans are still limited in number," said Virendra Shah, former chairperson, Travel Agents' Association of India (TAAI) Gujarat chapter.Goa continued to be a perennial favourite, while Mumbai, Pune and Bengaluru also saw steady interest, with travellers using these cities as bases to explore nearby getaways.