Republic Day break fuels short trips; nearby getaways in demand, say experts
The Hindu
Republic Day's long weekend boosts demand for short trips, with nearby getaways and international destinations gaining popularity among travelers.
Republic Day's long weekend has fuelled a surge in short "minication" trips, with travellers favouring nearby metro getaways, even as Goa remained the top domestic choice, according to travel experts.
"The appetite for weekend travel remains strong, with the extended Republic Day weekend presenting an opportunity for travel. There is a preference for nearby destinations, evident in the top travel choices from each metro," MakeMyTrip co-founder and Group CEO Rajesh Magow said.
However, Goa continues to remain the favourite leisure destination within India and internationally, the skew towards easy-visa destinations continues to gain traction, he stated.
"Countries with direct connectivity to multiple cities have led demand, with Thailand at the forefront and Vietnam also performed strongly," he added.
Echoing the view, Thomas Cook (India) president and country head, Holidays, MICE and Visa, Rajeev Kale said, the Republic Day long weekend offered travel-hungry Indians a welcome break via a 4-day 'minication'.
"We have witnessed an increased travel intent for both domestic and closer-to-home locales. Destinations like Rajasthan, Andamans, Kerala, also Bhutan and Sri Lanka in the Indian subcontinent, Dubai-Abu Dhabi, Oman, Maldives, Mauritius, Central Asia's Georgia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, new emerging island destinations such as Sabah [Malaysia], Cebu and Boracay [Philippines], Sa Pa and Phu Quoc [Vietnam] have gained interest," he said.
Alibaba is sharpening its artificial intelligence strategy by focusing on agents that connect the many businesses under its sprawling corporate umbrella.
India's semiconductor market is set to reach $300 billion by 2035, driven by local production and growing technology demands.
Iran continues to export millions of barrels of oil amid war, with 90 ships crossing the Strait of Hormuz despite sanctions.
Amazon CEO Andy Jassy said during an internal all-hands meeting he expects artificial intelligence could help cloud computing unit Amazon Web Services achieve $600 billion in annual sales, double his own prior estimate.
Government mandates airlines to allocate 60% of seats free, enhancing passenger rights and convenience across Indian aviation.
Microsoft is weighing legal action against Amazon and OpenAI over a $50 billion deal, the Financial Times reported
Stock markets rally with Sensex and Nifty gaining, despite HDFC Bank and others lagging behind amid falling crude prices.
OpenAI has signed a new deal to sell access to its AI models to U.S. defence and government agencies through Amazon’s cloud unit for classified and unclassified work, the ChatGPT maker said
Samsung Electronics said on Wednesday that it expects to start volume production of Tesla’s chips
The Trump administration said in a Tuesday court filing that the Pentagon’s blacklisting of Anthropic was justified and lawful
Mastercard Move aims to simplify cross-border payments for SMEs and students in India, enhancing efficiency and reducing costs.
SBI raises ₹6,051 crore through 10-year bonds, attracting strong investor demand with a 7.05% coupon rate.
In February, as per government data, domestic LPG production was slightly more than 1 million tonne.