New Delhi, Oct 26 (IANS): Travel has emerged as an important element during the festive season, with a spiritual destination such as Amritsar witnessing a year-on-year increase in flight searches by 114 per cent, according to a trend search.

Travel search engine Kayak has revealed that for the widely celebrated festival of Diwali this year, Indians are looking at travelling to different destinations.

Domestically, Amritsar is topping the list of the most trending destinations, while amongst the top trending international destinations, Dubai leads the list by 83 per cent increase in flight searches being done during the festival.

Abhijit Mishra, Director of India and Middle East, Kayak, said: "Diwali is known to be the festival of lights, prosperity, happiness and new beginnings all across the country. It is the perfect opportunity for people to connect with their loved ones and celebrate togetherness.

"This year during the festival, Indians are choosing to celebrate that connect by travelling to and with their close ones. With travel searches having increased from the previous year around the same time, we believe that the love Indians have for travelling is growing."

After Amritsar in the domestic market, Chennai holds the second spot a 70 per cent year-on-year increase, followed by Bengaluru, Varanasi and Bhubaneswar.

Indians are interested in not just in destinations within the country but are also willing to explore international destinations. Apart from Dubai, people look to travel to Milan, Cairo, Bangkok and Phuket.

The data is based on searches conducted on Kayak.co.in in between January 1, 2018 - July 31 for travel dates between November 1, 2018 and November 31, 2018.