MUSCAT: The Sultanate of Oman is one of the preferred choices for 50 percent of outbound Indian travelers who book less than 14 days before the travel date. According to a report by the popular Indian travel portal MakeMyTrip.com, the maximum last-minute flight bookings were made for Oman, Nepal, and UAE.
The report also said that for outbound Indian travelers, around 56 percent of international hotel booking trends are made 14 days before the day state. The Sultanate of Oman, Qatar and Azerbaijan made for maximum impulse hotel bookings while European destinations had higher share of longer advance purchase window.
Among Indian travelers, people from the South Indian state of Kerala are the most important impulsive bookers when it involves booking international flights, with 41 per cent of travelers from Kerala making their bookings 0 to six days before travel. Last year 55 per cent of Indians travelling abroad were for leisure, 33 per cent for visiting friends and relatives (VFR) and 12 percent were business trips. It also said that December is the most active months in terms of searches for international travel.
Speaking to Observer, Saada Abdullah al Harthi, director of Business Development, at MHT, said, "Over 600,000 Indian nationals visited the Sultanate last year and that number is expected to improve this year. Already, there has been a ten percent increase until June this year. It can be even above 700,000 in 2024."
She added that one of the reasons for Indians coming to the Sultanate could be short flying hours (2.5 to 3 hours). It can be noted that the Muscat International Airport is connected to different Indian cities with multiple frequencies.
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