Traditionally, winter in India meant weddings, woollens, and waiting for summer. This year, it is doing all that and more. Destination weddings are spilling across calendars, holiday traffic is peaking, and consumer spending continues to show strength, months after the Diwali rush. Tourism, aviation, hospitality, and discretionary consumption are coming together to make winter a season of momentum, driven by changing habits and growing comfort with year-round spending.
Prime Minister Pushes Winter Tourism
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has highlighted this shift in recent editions of Mann Ki Baat, encouraging Indians to explore winter destinations like Uttarakhand. He emphasized that winter need not be an off-season but an underutilized growth opportunity. Improved connectivity, upcoming Winter Games, and the rising appeal of winter weddings under the “Wed in India” campaign are all contributing to this trend. Destinations such as Auli, Munshiyari, Chopta, and Deyara have seen increased tourist inflows, with the Adi Kailash region’s visitors jumping from under 2,000 three years ago to over 30,000 now.
Weddings Drive the Economy
At the heart of winter’s resurgence is the wedding economy. Modi’s call to host weddings domestically has coincided with a surge in destination weddings in hill states, heritage cities, and resort towns. According to the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT), 3.8 million weddings were held between November 23 and December 15 last year, generating ₹4.74 lakh crore in revenue—a 26% year-on-year increase.
Globally, the destination wedding market grew from $36.2 billion in 2024 to $47.7 billion in 2025, a 31.7% rise. In India, the sector was valued at $16.25 billion in 2024 and is projected to reach $55.4 billion by 2033, indicating long-term growth potential. Luxury hotels are seeing the most immediate impact: Radisson Hotel Group reported an 87% increase in room revenue from weddings in November alone, while ITC Hotels’ tier-two and tier-three properties are seeing weddings contribute over half of annual revenue in some locations.
Average budgets are rising, with luxury destination weddings costing around ₹1.3 crore and mid-segment weddings ₹35–80 lakh. Winter weddings often see higher spending due to longer celebrations, premium décor, and enhanced culinary experiences.
Aviation and Travel Boosted by Weddings
The wedding-led tourism surge is reshaping domestic aviation demand. SpiceJet has reported higher winter passenger traffic on routes to popular destinations such as Goa, Jaipur, Udaipur, Kochi, Bagdogra, Srinagar, and the Northeast. Online travel platforms like EaseMyTrip have recorded a 15–20% rise in bookings year-on-year, with tier-II cities also seeing strong traction.
While IndiGo faced significant cancellations in early December, SpiceJet seized the opportunity, announcing plans for up to 100 additional daily flights this winter, ensuring better connectivity for travelers.
Retail and Discretionary Spending Remains Strong
The wedding economy is driving spending beyond travel. Jewellery sales remain robust, with handcrafted and coloured stone designs gaining popularity. Large jewellers, including Tanishq and Kalyan Jewellers, report post-Diwali sales growth maintained by wedding demand. Apparel, electronics, and FMCG sectors are also seeing 10–20% higher demand compared with previous years, fueled by strong wedding calendars, tax cuts, low inflation, and a normal monsoon.
Tourism at Scale
Domestic tourism is expanding rapidly. Visitor volumes are projected to rise from 2.5 billion in 2024 to 5.2 billion by 2030, while spending could nearly triple to ₹33.95 trillion by 2034, according to the World Travel & Tourism Council. Domestic air travel is expected to more than double, from 307 million passengers in FY24 to 693 million by FY30, putting pressure on hotels and infrastructure. Luxury hotel occupancy is already high, and revenue per room outpaces midscale properties by nearly three times.
Winter Becomes a Structural Growth Phase
Taken together, these trends indicate that winter is no longer just a seasonal spike. Tourism, weddings, aviation, and consumption reinforce each other, spreading economic activity across metros, hill states, and smaller cities. With supportive policy messaging, rising incomes, and improving infrastructure, India’s winter months are becoming some of the most economically significant of the year.
