MUMBAI: Ixigo, a travel marketplace reveals that the upcoming monsoon travel trend amongst millennials is taking a “bae-cation”. A bae-cation is the new-age term used for taking a vacation as a couple.

According to Ixigo, some of the most popular couple destinations this monsoon are Port Blair, Shillong, Guwahati, Kodaikanal and Puducherry, which are ideal for an extended weekend getaway.

Commenting on the findings, Ixigo CEO and co-founder Aloke Bajpai said, “Travel becomes far more affordable during the monsoon as it is a lean season in comparison to summer and winter. Major Indian airlines have announced their monsoon sales, offering big discounts on flights, reducing fares by almost 20 per cent. Goa remains to be the most popular destination showing an eight per cent increase in flight and 16 per cent increase in hotel searches. It is great to note, how owing to improved infrastructure and better flight connectivity, north-eastern destinations like Shillong and Guwahati are also becoming crowd favourites.”

Ixigo’s research data reveals that 39 per cent Indians, travelling during the monsoon, are planning to travel as couples, followed by 24 per cent with family and 18 per cent solo. Couples are planning short-stays that extend to about three or four days. Hotel searches for Goa show the maximum spike of 16 per cent from previous months, while Shillong and Guwahati follow with 11 per cent and nine per cent spikes respectively.

While about 25 per cent couples from Chennai and 18 per cent from Bangalore are booking a short vacation to Puducherry, about 14 per cent couples are travelling from Mumbai to Goa via train.