Fares to Goa, Bangkok & Dubai start annual year-end climb early

MUMBAI: A number of New Year revellers seem to have booked their holidays as air fares to destinations like Goa, Bangkok, Dubai and Colombo have started their annual, year-end climb early this year. Among international destinations, New Zealand and Australia seem to be picking up as favourites, according to data by an online search engine.
It's probably a result of the rush to get rid of currency notes of higher denomination.The cheapest Mumbai-Goa return airfares started at Rs13,000 on Tuesday . With around 40 days to go before New Year's Eve, fares on direct flights with convenient timings, are expected to cross Rs20,000, said an airline official.
“With New Year's Eve falling on a weekend this year, one could expect a steep climb in fares to Goa from December 10,“ he said, adding that last year, till the first week of December, a Mumbai-Goa return around New Year costs Rs8,000. Unlike Goa fares, those to holiday domestic destinations like Jaipur and Kochi continue to stay low. On the international circuthe cheapest Mumbai-Dubai it, the cheapest Mumbai-Dubai return fare cost Rs26,000 on Tuesday .
“As New Year draws close, it will be hard to find seats on direct flights to destinations like Bangkok and Dubai,“ the official added. Fares to other ne ighbourhood destinations like Colombo, which are not linked by many direct flights, are already high, with return fares on direct flights between Mumbai and Colombo currently costing Rs30,000. Among emerging New Year stinations are those in the so destinations are those in the southern hemisphere, according to data released by Skyscanner.“New Zealand emerged as a clear favourite among Indian travellers, witnessing a growth of 52% in travel searches from last year,“ Skyscanner said. It drew comparisons between travel searches from 2015 and 2016, highlighting where Indians will be ushering in 2017, while crunching numbers from over 50 million users every month.
New Zealand was top on the list of Delhiites with a 120% year-on-year increase in searches.“Neighbouring, Australia was the second most searched destination for Indians and recorded a 47% increase in travel searches compared to last year,“ said the Skyscanner report. Reshmi Roy , growth manager, Skyscanner, said Indians were moving away from cliched spots.