With Rajasthan’s vibrant culture beckoning, traditional sightseeing in the state has now been replaced by an increased demand for experiential tours. Data collected by Thrillophilia across the last quarter of 2021 has reflected how tourists are now more interested in immersive tours that include a plethora of experiences. The demand for specially designed tours, such as heritage walks and food tours, serve as a great insight into the local ways of life here. On the other hand, specially designed tours such as adventure tours and luxury staycations offer fresh ways of experiencing Rajasthan’s marvelous cities and their heritage.
City wise experiential tours
Owing to the wide variety of experiences that the state has to offer, Rajasthan is growing increasingly popular among tourists in terms of experiential tours. The capital city of Jaipur has proven itself as an all-round destination; around 39% of the total tourists to the city go for local tours about its forts and palaces, while 21% opt for luxury staycations and adventure tours respectively. A similar trend has been noted in the case of Jodhpur. While the city’s heritage has made local and experiential tours the most popular choice in Jodhpur, around 26% of the total traveling group have been seen to opt for adventure experiences. Interestingly, 23% of travelers to Jodhpur tend to extend their vacations through short excursions to nearby villages and towns as well.
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Udaipur was seen to be most popular for luxury staycations, with 36% of the total travelers to the city opting for stays in traditional havelis and palace-hotels. However, local tours are popular in Udaipur as well. In Thrillophilia's Rajasthan Holiday Packages, adventure opportunities were the biggest draw of Jaisalmer, attracting around 57% of the total tourist cohort. With its desert safaris, dune bashing and parasailing, the desert city has proven to be Rajasthan’s biggest adventure destination. Smaller cities such as Pushkar or Bikaner are well known for their local tours, their experiences attracting 31% and 32% tourists respectively. Adventure sports, such as desert safaris and camping, is a big draw in the latter, drawing around 33% of its total tourist influx.
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Tourists opted for longer vacations
Travel trends across the final quarter of 2021 has revealed that tourists traveling to Rajasthan are now more inclined towards longer, more experiential vacations. A considerable minority of 11% go for tours that extend beyond 8 days. These tours generally tend to include multiple cities instead of just one, along with itineraries packed with a variety of different experiences. This allows an all-encompassing experience in the state, touring across not just the major destination but several offbeat towns and villages as well. About 38% of tourists choose tours that span between 6 to 8 day, which allows plenty of time to tour most of the major destinations and also includes plenty of activities as well. Another 36% of the total traveling group go for vacations of 3 to 5 days. Comparatively shorter, tours of these lengths tend to include a short stay in Jaipur along with other major cities such as Jaisalmer, Jodhpur or Udaipur. Around 15% go for less than 3 days long tours which mainly include weekend getaways from destinations nearby to Rajasthan.
Tourists choose the Big five in Rajasthan the most
Tourists have been seen to prefer tours that include multiple locations rather than single-city vacations. Most travelers opt for a combined tour of the Big 5- that is, of Jaipur, Bikaner, Jaisalmer, Jodhpur and Udaipur. These bigger cities are famed for their heritage monuments and cultural experiences, and are often sought out by those looking for long, immersive tours. A combined tour of Udaipur, Jodhpur and Jaisalmer is quite popular as well, with around 15% of total travelers opting for it. Experiences such as desert adventures, palatial stays and heritage walks are the biggest draw to these cities. A good number of tourists- again 15% of the total group- go for a complete Rajasthan tour. These tours are generally long and tend to last between ten days to two weeks, stopping at each location for a night or two. Several tourists- around 10% of the total- go for tours of the capital city along with other big cities such as Jodhpur or Udaipur.
