A report by digital lending platform BharatLoan said short-term personal loan applications rose 30% in the run-up to Holi. The average ticket size ranged between ₹40,000 and ₹50,000, with borrowers aged 30–35 accounting for the largest share.
Travel emerged as the top reason for borrowing, followed by gifting and home celebrations.
The data suggests that many working professionals are using short-duration credit to fund planned travel and manage festive expenses without disrupting monthly cash flows. Tier 2 cities accounted for 55.2% of festive credit demand, while Tier 3 cities saw participation of 60.28%, pointing to deeper digital credit adoption beyond metros.
The borrowing surge coincides with a strong travel uptick. Travel platform ixigo reported a 70–75% year-on-year (YoY) increase in flight bookings for the week of Holi 2026. Its bus business, AbhiBus, recorded over 70% YoY growth in advance bookings, reflecting strong intercity travel demand.
Tier 2 and 3 cities power travel growth
Flight bookings from smaller cities rose sharply. Gorakhpur led with a 94% YoY increase, followed by Bhopal (89%), Kanpur (86%), Darbhanga (76%), Varanasi (72%), Lucknow (68%), Ranchi (67%) and Patna (54%).
Among leisure destinations, Udaipur saw a 94% YoY rise in bookings, Dehradun 90% and Srinagar 85%. Goa recorded an 81% increase, Jaipur 73% and Darjeeling 65%, indicating strong interest in cultural and holiday hotspots.
Metro cities also recorded double-digit growth. Ahmedabad reported a 118% YoY jump in flight bookings for the Holi week, followed by Hyderabad (108%) and Chennai (101%). Kolkata saw an 89% rise, while New Delhi and Pune each recorded 80% growth. Bengaluru posted a 77% increase and Mumbai 54% compared to last year.
Advance bus bookings mirrored this trend, particularly on routes affected by train waitlists.
According to AbhiBus data, Delhi–Lucknow and Delhi–Varanasi routes grew over 60% YoY, while Mumbai–Pune and Mumbai–Nagpur rose 75%. Hyderabad–Vijayawada and Hyderabad–Bengaluru saw a 70% increase, and the Bengaluru–Chennai corridor recorded 65% growth. Women travellers accounted for nearly 40% of total bus seats booked so far, with advance bookings by women rising close to 80% YoY.
Aloke Bajpai, Co-founder and Group CEO of ixigo, said Holi falling mid-week has encouraged travellers to create longer holiday windows. He noted two parallel trends: a rush to hometowns across Tier 2 and 3 cities and a surge in leisure travel to destinations such as Udaipur, Srinagar and Goa.
Industry players say this behavioural shift is repositioning Holi as a significant travel event in the annual calendar.
Karan Agarwal, Director at Cox and Kings (a Wilson & Hughes portfolio company), said Holi has evolved into a multi-day cultural and leisure travel period.
He said heritage destinations such as Jaipur, Udaipur, Vrindavan and Pushkar are seeing strong momentum, while metro cities like Bengaluru and Mumbai are driving short-haul international travel to destinations including Dubai and Thailand. According to him, the trend reflects a broader shift in traveller behaviour, with Holi emerging as a driver of both domestic cultural tourism and outbound leisure travel.
Festive credit meets planned travel
Taken together, the data points to a convergence between festive consumption and structured financial planning. With travel emerging as the primary driver of borrowing, short-term digital loans are being used to fund planned experiences rather than emergency needs.
