\n<\/p>\n
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 \u20b940,000 and \u20b950,000, with borrowers aged 30\u201335 accounting for the largest share.
\n<\/p>\n
\nTravel 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.<\/p>\n
The borrowing surge coincides with a strong travel uptick. Travel platform ixigo reported a 70\u201375% 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.<\/p>\n
Tier 2 and 3 cities power travel growth<\/strong><\/p>\n 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%).<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n \nMetro 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.<\/p>\n Advance bus bookings mirrored this trend, particularly on routes affected by train waitlists.<\/p>\n According to AbhiBus data, Delhi\u2013Lucknow and Delhi\u2013Varanasi routes grew over 60% YoY, while Mumbai\u2013Pune and Mumbai\u2013Nagpur rose 75%. Hyderabad\u2013Vijayawada and Hyderabad\u2013Bengaluru saw a 70% increase, and the Bengaluru\u2013Chennai 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.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n Industry players say this behavioural shift is repositioning Holi as a significant travel event in the annual calendar.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n Festive credit meets planned travel<\/strong><\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n