Cleartrip’s festive-season tracker found travel demand shifting beyond traditional hubs. Diwali leisure hotel bookings rose 135%, while bookings by travellers aged 15–24 increased 60%.
Luxury hotels that rely on long-haul, high spending guests have been hit by Middle East unrest while their budget and midscale counterparts have fared better with a broader mix of arrivals.
Three explosions were heard in Riyadh early on Oct. 25 as the Saudi capital’s international airport prepared to resume flights after a two-week closure caused by Houthi attacks, despite renewed threats from the Yemeni group.
Riyadh's main airport prepares to resume domestic and international flights Sunday as the Houthis renew threats to target the facility following recent attacks.
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According to Riyadh Air, from October 25, 2026, flights to Cairo (CAI), Dhaka (DAC), Jeddah (JED), London-Heathrow (LHR), Lahore (LHE) and Islamabad (ISB) will depart from Al Qassim instead of Riyadh.
The carrier will provide a complimentary coach to passengers from Riyadh to ELQ, with the journey expected to take over three hours.
On October 25, 2026, King Khalid International Airport announced that it would reopen with terminal 1 designated for domestic flights and terminal 2 for international flights.
However, it appears with the risk of Houthi attacks still active, Riyadh Air has prioritized restarting operations away from the Saudi capital.
Since an attack at the airport on October 10, 2026, which killed 12 people, flights from RUH have been suspended or faced government restrictions.
The United States has advised its citizens in Saudi Arabia to take “extreme caution” if they choose to use the country’s airports.
Al-Qassim International Airport is further from Yemen, but a Houthi ballistic missile could still physically reach the area. It is understood that Al-Qassim has not yet been hit by Houthi weapons.
On October 25, 2026, the Saudi government said 10 ballistic missiles launched by the Houthis toward the southern region were intercepted and destroyed.
An earlier announcement also said that a ballistic missile had been intercepted and destroyed that was targeting Riyadh.
Gen Z is now shaping festival bookings, with flight bookings by 15–24-year-olds up 60% ahead of Diwali, and bus bookings rising 80%, data from Cleartrip PeekABoo travel trends tracker showed.
Hotels have seen big gains this festive season across budget and luxury segments, the tracker added, it showed leisure stays jumped 135% for Diwali. Indians are preferring destinations off the beaten path, with Taipei, Cebu and Dublin taking the lead among international stops, while tier 2 and 3 markets benefitting from the boom domestically.
Travel and hotel demand is decentralising rapidly across the country as Indians are officially swapping traditional metro holidays for offbeat getaways and regional hubs, Cleartrip said in its release.
— According to the statement, leisure hotel bookings have risen 135% for Diwali so far and 66% for Navratri.
— Traditional tourist destination Udaipur saw hotel bookings more than quadruple at 316% for Diwali so far, while bookings in major tech and heritage hubs — Bangalore and Jaipur have nearly tripled with increases of 189% and 174%, respectively.
— Flight bookings to Agatti grew 130%, Gaya 98% and Dimapur 80%.
— Other domestic destinations recording flight growth include Udaipur (59%), Dibrugarh (37%), Gorakhpur (34%), Jabalpur (29%), Imphal (24%) and Dehradun (9%).
— It added that bookings among travellers aged 15–24 increased 60%, compared with 6% among those aged 25–34.
— Simultaneously, women’s share of bookings grew 44% over the same period.
According to the report, the holiday boom is evident across every hotel category.
— Budget stays are leading with a massive 201% jump in bookings, closely followed by luxury properties at 162%, mid-range accommodations at 148%, and premium hotels at 114%. This shows that travel demand is strong across all income segments this festive season.
— Bus travel remains primarily driven by traditional festive migration as people head back to their hometowns. Bookings grew 80% for Delhi, 76% for Pune, 68% for Nagpur, 63% for Chennai and 57% for Mumbai.
— International flight bookings are growing across less conventional destinations. Taipei leads with 146% growth, followed by Cebu at 117%, Dublin at 110%, Phu Quoc at 106%, and Osaka recorded 74% growth.
There is a clear distribution of travel spending away from traditional hubs and hotel tiers. For many Indians, travel is becoming an increasingly important part of celebrating the festive season, it added.
Disclaimer: This story is for educational purposes only. The views and recommendations made above are those of individuals or companies, and not of Mint. We advise readers to check with certified experts before making decisions.
Jocelyn Fernandes is a journalist and editor with nearly 13 years of experience covering the business, corporate, economy and markets beats in news. As chief content producer for around three years at Livemint (Hindustan Times), Jocelyn publishes breaking stories, explainers, features and live blogs on a range of business and economy topics, including the Budget, corporate developments, stock markets, income tax, money and personal finance, cryptocurrency, government policy, impact of US tariffs, international developments and more. Jocelyn's writing philosophy is focused on delivering news in an accurate and accessible format for readers.
She thus focuses her news coverage on explainers and FAQs in order to breakdown business, corporate, economic, and policy topics that are of importance to everyday readers. She holds a Bachelors in Mass Media (BMM) and Post Graduate Diploma (PGD) in Journalism and Communication and has previously written for online business and markets news site Moneycontrol (Network18), Business-to-business (B2B) trade publications — the industry magazines Power Today and Solar Today (ASAPP Media), and the national news agency United News of India (UNI). Outside of work, Jocelyn keeps up-to-date with local and international news, enjoys reading fiction books, novels and short stories, and enjoys movies, travelling and art.
She can be found on X and LinkedIn, and reached by email: jocelyn.fernandes@htdigital.in X/ Twitter handle: @scribeJocelyn LinkedIn: LinkedIn
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Emirates is eyeing three new US cities for nonstop flights to Dubai, potentially expanding its network beyond the 12 American airports it serves today. President Sir Tim Clark named Denver International Airport (DEN), Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport (DTW) and Philadelphia International Airport (PHL) as possible destinations during a conference this week.
None of the three airports currently have a nonstop connection to Dubai International Airport (DXB), although Denver has been heavily touted as a possible Emirates destination in the past. Its most recent US route launch was to Miami International Airport (MIA) in 2021, replacing flights to nearby Fort Lauderdale.
As reported by The Points Guy, Clark made the comments during an interview at Routes World in Frankfurt this week. Denver is the only one of the three cities to have been publicly linked to Emirates before, although Detroit and Philadelphia have reportedly been on the carrier's radar for years.
In spring 2025, then-Denver airport CEO Phil Washington said the airport's next new route will "likely be Dubai with Emirates," although the carrier responded by saying it had no official plans to serve Denver. Notably, DEN currently has no nonstop flights to the Gulf region — its longest route is Turkish Airlines' 6,130-mile (9,865 km) service to Istanbul Airport (IST), which launched in June 2024.
It is also the only United Airlines hub Emirates does not already serve. The Dubai-based airline already serves six of United’s hubs in Newark, Chicago, Houston, Washington, San Francisco and Los Angeles. The two airlines have been codeshare partners since 2023. Meanwhile, Detroit is one of Delta Air Lines' largest hubs, while Philadelphia is an American Airlines stronghold ranking as its fifth-largest hub by flights, and a key transatlantic gateway.
However, Emirates already serves Newark and JFK, located about 80 miles (129 km) and 94 miles (151 km) from Philadelphia, respectively. Of the three potential routes, Philadelphia would be the shortest at 6,928 miles (11,150 km) from Dubai, followed by Detroit at 7,083 miles (11,400 km). Denver would be the longest at 7,758 miles (12,485 km), although it wouldn't become the longest US route in Emirates' network — that would be Los Angeles at 8,326 miles (13,399 km).
Whether these routes become a reality is heavily dependent on the carrier restoring capacity and expanding its fleet. Emirates is still awaiting delivery of its first Boeing 777-9 widebody, with its current timeline expecting the first to arrive in May or June 2027. This would be seven years later than initially planned.
Until the new aircraft arrive, Emirates is extending the service lives of its Airbus A380s and Boeing 777-300ERs through a $5 billion cabin retrofit program. The airline now expects to keep its A380s flying into the early 2040s. It has also told Boeing that it will reject early-production 777X aircraft and accept only newly built examples, due to the extensive change incorporation work these early-build airframes require.
Clark did not specify which aircraft Emirates might use for any of the three cities. None of them currently receive year-round A380 service, although Denver has seen seasonal A380 flights by Lufthansa over the last two summers. Clark pointed to the airline's huge order book, which includes more than 300 Airbus A350s, Boeing 787s and Boeing 777Xs, stating that there are very few cities around the world the airline could not reach if it wanted to.
Emirates has not added a brand-new US airport to its network since June 2021, when it began flying to Miami. Before that, the airline’s last addition was Newark in March 2017, flown via Athens.
However, the airline is adding a brand-new aircraft type to its US network in the Airbus A350-900. The aircraft is set to replace the Boeing 777-300ER on flights to Orlando, offering 298 seats (32 business, 28 premium economy, 238 economy). The A350 will take over from the 777 on November 1.
Of the three cities Clark named, Philadelphia is the only one already served by a Gulf airline, namely Qatar Airways. The Qatari airline resumed flights from Doha in August, soon after American Airlines permanently dropped its own Philadelphia–Doha route in June. Denver and Detroit, by contrast, currently have no Gulf carrier service at all, potentially giving Emirates a more direct opportunity to establish a new market.
Emirates is getting closer to restoring its full capacity after months of disruption. Clark said the airline had rebuilt 91% of its pre-crisis capacity, with revenues already ahead of 2025 despite airspace closures and rising fuel costs. He added that demand across Emirates’ key markets remains strong, also confirming that the airline remains profitable.
Found an error? Send it info@simpleflying.com so it can be corrected.
The carrier has benefited from the withdrawal of international airlines from Dubai, strengthening its position as DXB's dominant carrier. Codeshare partner United has not operated its Newark–Dubai route since February, and remains one of 17 international carriers yet to resume flights to Dubai.
United is not planning to return until March 2027, leaving Emirates as the partnership’s only nonstop link between the US and Dubai. It would also make Denver, the one United hub it doesn’t yet serve, an even more logical next step.
Hotel operators in the UAE are relying on travelers from short-haul markets such as India, China and Russia to support their recovery from the worst impacts of the U.S.-Iran war, as higher airfares continue to keep away some long-haul guests.
“We’re targeting short-haul markets like India, China, and Russia, that are a five- to six-hour flight away,” said Saurabh Tiwari, vice president for the Middle East, Maldives and Sri Lanka at IHCL, which operates the Taj brand. “Since jet fuel prices are more expensive than before, it is hard to expect people to come from long-haul markets like the Americas or Australia. Attracting visitors from long-haul [markets] is going to be wishful thinking.”
India has been IHCL’s most reliable source market through the crisis, Tiwari said, because of its accessibility and lower flight prices compared to long-haul destinations. At the same time, cheaper rooms are now making Dubai more affordable to travelers who previousl
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Tags: abu dhabi, dubai, hotels, short term rentals, uae, unrest
LYVGO Atlas illustration — original artwork, not publisher photography.
Most widely reported
1
Explosions heard as Riyadh airport prepares to reopen
hurriyetdailynews.com
3 outlets reporting
2
Western Sydney Airport opens as first Jetstar flight hits the runway
aerotime.aero
2 outlets reporting
3
Riyadh airport to resume flights despite renewed Houthi threats
israelnationalnews.com
2 outlets reporting
4
United flight returns to Las Vegas over hijacking threat: ‘The flight attendant saw him texting’
hindustantimes.com
2 outlets reporting
Every item above is summarised from the source named beside it.
Riyadh Air moves operations away from Saudi capital to Al Qassim Airport
Confirmed
Riyadh Air has moved operations away from King Khalid International Airport (RUH) in the Saudi capital to Al-Qassim….
Not yet confirmed
Reported by one outlet so far — not yet corroborated by another.
Today's list
Cut Flight Costs This Season
As the travel season heats up, it's time to think outside the box to save on flights. From simple habits to clever tools, we've got you covered.
1
Clear Your Cookies
Many airlines and online travel agencies use cookies to track your browsing history and raise prices if they see you're interested in a particular route. Clearing your cookies can help you avoid this price hike.
2
Use Budget Airlines' Hubs
Budget airlines often have cheaper flights to certain destinations, but only if you fly through one of their hubs. Research these hubs to find the best deals.
3
Book on Off-Peak Days
Flights tend to be cheaper on off-peak days, such as Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Plan your trip accordingly to save some cash.
4
Use the 24-Hour Rule
Many airlines and online travel agencies offer a 24-hour price guarantee. If the price drops within 24 hours, you can get a refund for the difference.
5
Pack Light
Checking bags can add a significant fee to your flight. Pack light to avoid these extra costs.
6
Use a Flight Comparison Tool
Tools like Google Flights or Skyscanner allow you to compare prices across multiple airlines and find the best deals.
7
Be Flexible with Your Travel Dates
Prices can vary depending on the day of the week and time of year. Being flexible with your travel dates can help you find cheaper flights.
A United Airlines aircraft operating service from Las Vegas to Newark diverted back to Harry Reid International Airport on Saturday evening after a flight attendant identified a passenger engaged in text communications regarding a potential aircraft hijacking.
The flight crew secured the cockpit door while simultaneously informing air traffic control that the passenger appeared unaware of any ongoing response measures.
Shweta Kukreti
What happened
The Boeing 737 MAX 8 returned to Las Vegas, where crew duty time limitations subsequently expired, resulting in an extended overnight delay for passengers.
The detail
The controller inquired whether the passenger is cooperative or under restraint. The pilot responded that the passenger is unaware of the situation and referenced a message that was seen by a flight attendant. “The flight attendant saw him texting that he was going to hijack the aircraft. com.
Local impactFollow how this story develops and what it means for you.
Source: United flight returns to Las Vegas over hijacking threat: ‘The flight attendant saw him texting’ (hindustantimes.com) · Oct 26, 2026
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Riyadh Air moves operations away from Saudi capital to Al Qassim Airport | LYVGO
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