Women on the move: 70% trips in India planned by women, says report
As income rises and women become more and more independent, it is leaving a mark both on their wallets and on the tourism industry. A report by travel and holiday package company Thrillophilia has stated that as many as seven out of 10 trips in India are being planned by women.
Kolkata: Indians are one of the keenest tourists in the world and as income levels are rising among women, more of whom are becoming more and more independent, it is also leaving an impression on the spending pattern when it comes to travel. Thrillophilia, a travel and holiday package company, has stated after a number crunching exercise that women are deciding the contours and planning 70% of the trips made by Indian households. The sample size has been quite significant. The report analysed 212,000 itineraries and 8.9 million signals before coming up with this conclusion.
The report published on Nov 19, stated that women are at the wheel most of the times, reading reviews, sharing itineraries with family and friends and scrutinising all details while fixing a trip. Thrillophilia is a AI-powered travel platform and it said it in a report titled ‘Women & Travel Decisions 2025'. Cofounder of Thrillophilia, Chitra Gurnani Daga was quoted in the media as saying, "Indian leisure is increasingly a she-planner economy... Women are making early bookings, prioritising safety, and opting for meaningful upgrades without stretching budgets.”
Significantly, travel, tourism and the hospitality sector has been regarded as one of the drivers of the Indian GDP which is expected to chart a higher path, expert agencies such as SBI Research has said recently. The GST rejigs and credit card spend patterns analysed by the agency have also reinforced a rising trend of travel.
Early booking, fewer emergency calls by women
The report revealed premium upgrades in women-planned trips are significantly higher -- about 28% -- than those planned by males. Overall spending is also 6% more for trips planned by women. Other facts gleaned from the report are:
Women are early planners and, on average, book travel tickets and hotels nine days earlier than men. That helps in avoiding last-minute price hikes.
Since the trips are planned early, there are more safety filters and therefore, emergency calls on trips are 23% less.
Women plan the itineraries, but when it comes to making payments, 62% of payments on trips involving couples are made by men.
Destination for women travelers
The Thrillophilia report has subdivided the destinations into domestic and international. Rajasthan, Kerala and Goa are the top destinations in the domestic circuit. When it comes to crossing the country's borders, the top destinations are Bali, Dubai-Abu Dhabi, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. The report has also stated that tese are the destinations where convergence of value and luxury is available.
Also it has been noticed that more and more women planners are emerging from Tier-II cities beyond the confines of the metropolitan cities. Indore leads in this category with a 31% growth, followed by Ahmedabad, Lucknow and Jaipur. The report also stated that women are actively reshaping India’s travel industry, through "thoughtful itineraries”.
Jump in solo travel among women
It is an established fact that women solo travelers are rising fast in the country. Earlier reports quoting data from IntrCity SmartBus said that the number of solo women travellers grew at 135% between 2023 and 2025 -- the numbers rising from 90,700 in FY23 to more than 2.13 lakh in FY25. This trend is pronounced in the 18-35 year category, which constitutes over 70% of all solo women bookings on the platform.