{"id":9334,"date":"2019-03-06T13:40:05","date_gmt":"2019-03-06T13:40:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/pulseonline.co\/?page_id=9334"},"modified":"2019-03-06T13:40:05","modified_gmt":"2019-03-06T13:40:05","slug":"love-is-in-the-air","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"http:\/\/pulseonline.co\/index.php\/love-is-in-the-air\/","title":{"rendered":"Love is in the Air!"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Thomas Cook India sees 27% surge in Valentine\u2019s Day travel demand<\/strong><a style=\"color: #000000;\" href=\"http:\/\/pulseonline.co\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/7f7e88f80364435246d470dcb0f2ffc4-valentine-hearts-valentines-day.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-image-9335 alignleft\" src=\"http:\/\/pulseonline.co\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/7f7e88f80364435246d470dcb0f2ffc4-valentine-hearts-valentines-day.jpg\" alt=\"7f7e88f80364435246d470dcb0f2ffc4--valentine-hearts-valentines-day\" width=\"222\" height=\"382\" srcset=\"http:\/\/pulseonline.co\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/7f7e88f80364435246d470dcb0f2ffc4-valentine-hearts-valentines-day.jpg 236w, http:\/\/pulseonline.co\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/7f7e88f80364435246d470dcb0f2ffc4-valentine-hearts-valentines-day-175x300.jpg 175w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 222px) 100vw, 222px\" \/><\/a><strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<ul style=\"text-align: justify;\">\n<li><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong>India\u2019s Millennials showing preference for non-traditional experiences over romance <\/strong><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong>Unique destinations in high demand<\/strong><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong>Demand from Regional India\u2019s Tier 2 and 3 growing strongly<\/strong><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Thomas<b>\u00a0<\/b>Cook was delighted to\u00a0 witness a significant <strong>demand for Valentine\u2019s Day\u00a0 &#8211;\u00a0 \u00a0upwards of 27%.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Valentine\u2019s Day falling on a Thursday this year, has allowed travel hungry Indians to take Friday off and avail of an <strong>extended weekend (a 4-day break) to celebrate Valentine\u2019s<\/strong> <strong>Day<\/strong> by travelling with loved ones.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Our data highlighted that while demand for romantic destinations such as France, Switzerland, Italy, Bali, Langkawi (Malaysia), Mauritius and Maldives continued to grow, it is <strong>non-standard destinations, such as Korea, Japan, Fiji, Reunion Island, Morocco, Tunisia, Hungary, Czech Republic, Greece and South Africa that are showing significant interest. <\/strong>From an India perspective, destinations like Dharmshala, Manali, Kerala, Goa, Dalhousie and Udaipur featured as favourites.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><a style=\"color: #000000;\" href=\"http:\/\/pulseonline.co\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/561caa231ee41925117f5ddc17e561ef-images-for-valentines-day-heart-template.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\" wp-image-9336 alignright\" src=\"http:\/\/pulseonline.co\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/561caa231ee41925117f5ddc17e561ef-images-for-valentines-day-heart-template.jpg\" alt=\"561caa231ee41925117f5ddc17e561ef--images-for-valentines-day-heart-template\" width=\"120\" height=\"138\" \/><\/a>Interestingly, while Valentine\u2019s Day has been viewed as a metro phenomenon, <strong>Regional India\u2019s Tier 2 and 3 cities are displaying strong demand<\/strong>: metro\/mini-metro cities (such as Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, Pune) contributing approx. 60% to Thomas Cook India\u2019s Valentine Day bookings, with <strong>40% delivered by Tier 2 and 3 <\/strong>cities (Kochi, Jaipur, Madurai, Lucknow, Chandigarh). This year, Valentine\u2019s Day has seen a significant uptake from India\u2019s millennial segment and DINK\/SINK (Double\/Single Income No Kids) couples; <strong>millennials leading with a 47% contribution<\/strong> to Thomas Cook India\u2019s booking pie.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Romantic experiences<\/strong> such as champagne brunches\/candle lit dinners, sunset cruises, couple spas, etc. continue to be the flavour of the season, however it is <strong>unique, non-traditional experiences <\/strong>such as quad-biking, snorkelling, sailing trips, bungee jumping, zip lining\/zorbing, kite boarding\/wind surfing, sea-plane tours, scenic self-drives that are<strong> seeing high demand- a growth of 45% against last year<\/strong>. Unique culinary experiences such as vineyard tours and sampling new age wines in South Africa, cooking classes with a local chef in Malaysia, or indulging in Chef\u00a0Hawker\u00a0Chan\u2019s Michelin-starred street food\u00a0in Singapore; outdoor and adrenalin infused experiences like a self-drive in a super car through Tuscany\u2019s\u00a0countryside or the ultimate experience of an FI ride around the Yas Marina Circuit, an igloo stay in Finland to witness the Northern Lights, a Vespa city sightseeing tour in Singapore, a sunset cruise or kayaking along the mangroves\u00a0 in Abu Dhabi, a swim with the Hawksbill sea turtles off Indonesia\u2019s Lengkuas Island and road trips including Manali-Leh, have seen strong interest!<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><a style=\"color: #000000;\" href=\"http:\/\/pulseonline.co\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/332424.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-image-9337 alignleft\" src=\"http:\/\/pulseonline.co\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/332424.jpg\" alt=\"332424\" width=\"164\" height=\"164\" srcset=\"http:\/\/pulseonline.co\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/332424.jpg 401w, http:\/\/pulseonline.co\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/332424-150x150.jpg 150w, http:\/\/pulseonline.co\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/332424-300x300.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 164px) 100vw, 164px\" \/><\/a>To optimise\u00a0 the\u00a0 Valentine\u2019s\u00a0Day extended weekend<strong>, India\u2019s travellers\u00a0 capitalised on visa free (visa not required) or visa-on-arrival destinations<\/strong> like Bali, Jordan, Thailand and Kenya and Islands like Mauritius, Maldives &amp; Seychelles.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Solo travel<\/strong>\u00a0was also interestingly on the increase this Valentine\u2019s Day (an increase of 20%) led primarily by the millennial segment- to celebrate their love for\u00a0travel. <strong>Sizeable demand was seen from the single women\u2019s segment,<\/strong> and this included travel to safe destinations such as Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Dubai-Abu Dhabi, Japan, Korea, Thailand, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, Shillong and Coorg &#8211; with shopping, spa-wellness, culture and culinary experiences topping their wish list!<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">\r\n<a style=\"color: rgb(68,79,247);\" href=\"http:\/\/pulseonline.co\/\">Home<\/a>\r\n<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Thomas Cook India sees 27% surge in Valentine\u2019s Day travel demand\u00a0 India\u2019s Millennials showing preference for non-traditional experiences over romance Unique destinations in high demand Demand from Regional India\u2019s Tier 2 and 3 growing strongly Thomas\u00a0Cook was delighted to\u00a0 witness a significant demand for Valentine\u2019s Day\u00a0 &#8211;\u00a0 \u00a0upwards of 27%. Valentine\u2019s Day falling on a&#8230; <\/p>\n<div class=\"link-more\"><a href=\"http:\/\/pulseonline.co\/index.php\/love-is-in-the-air\/\">Read More<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/pulseonline.co\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/9334"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/pulseonline.co\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/pulseonline.co\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/pulseonline.co\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/pulseonline.co\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9334"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"http:\/\/pulseonline.co\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/9334\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9358,"href":"http:\/\/pulseonline.co\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/9334\/revisions\/9358"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/pulseonline.co\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9334"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}