Traffic for Kumbh continues to rise

The Maha Kumbh Mela is underway at Prayagraj, UP, from 13 January to 26 February, a once-in-144-year event marked by rare celestial alignments. Skyscanner observes a significant increase in travel interest for the event and shares trends.

TT Bureau

Renowned as one of the world’s largest spiritual gatherings, The Maha Kumbh Mela is attracting millions of pilgrims and international visitors to India. Booking volumes have been rising from 12 January continuing through 26 February aligning with key dates of the holy dip rituals,
reveals a report released recently by Skyscanner.

Beyond its spiritual and cultural significance, the Maha Kumbh Mela is a major tourism moment for India, with a notable surge in domestic and international travel activity. Apart from the rise in booking volumes, the report highlights some other major trends:

Domestic

• 28 January stands out as the peak travel date, indicating higher travel interest due to the Second Shahi Snan (royal bath) on 29 January, which is considered highly auspicious. Other dates with high booking volumes include 14, 15, 25, and 29 January.
• Notably, 28 January has recorded a staggering 675 per cent increase in booking volume compared to a typical day. Compared to the same time last year when no event was held in Prayagraj, the volume of bookings has surged by 1,776 per cent, reflecting the growing enthusiasm to attend this once-in-a-lifetime experience.
• Based on data in the week of 20 January, searches for travel in February have spiked across key domestic routes, with the following emerging as sought after routes in the last 28 days. Interestingly, searches for nearby airports, such as Varanasi, have also witnessed a surge, indicating a growing interest in indirect travel routes.
• Bengaluru to Varanasi
• Mumbai to Varanasi
• Mumbai to Prayagraj

The data also reveals that the following routes witnessed a significant week-on-week (Based on data in the week of 20 January as compared to searches in the week of 13 January). (WoW) growth in searches for travel in February:

• Hyderabad – Prayagraj: up by 2,815 per cent
• Pune – Prayagraj: up by 1,345 per cent
• Prayagraj – Mumbai: up by 870 per cent

International

With significant interest from international travellers planning their visits around the key holy dip dates (13, 14, and 29 January and 3, 12, and 26 February), it is evident that the spiritual event has a global appeal. The top five international cities that have searched for travel to Prayagraj around these dates are:

• Dubai
• London
• Abu Dhabi
• Singapore
• Doha

This data underscores how travellers across India and the world are gearing up to immerse themselves in the spiritual grandeur of the Maha Kumbh, making it a pivotal travel moment for 2025.