As IPL 2026 kicks off, domestic tourism hits the road and skies

India’s biggest cricket tournament is increasingly doubling up as a travel engine and the first ten days of Indian Premier League 2026 makes that hard to miss. New booking data from Scapia shows double-digit growth across flights, hotels and buses, but the more telling shift is where that demand is coming from and how people are choosing to move.

Hyderabad has emerged as the standout aviation market this season, with flight bookings jumping 37% week-on-week, overtaking traditional leaders like Mumbai. Lucknow and Chandigarh are also seeing strong traction, suggesting that IPL fandom is now translating into inter-city travel demand, not just screen time.

This shift is even stronger in tier-2 cities. Guwahati recorded a 27% spike in flight bookings during the opening IPL week, reinforcing its position as a fly-in destination. The data shows that non-metro stadiums are beginning to act as aviation demand generators in their own right.

“Everything and anything that people value in terms of an experience, they are willing to pay for and travel,” said founder Anil Goteti who noted that this is not a trend India was witnessing even ten years ago. 

From stadium crowds to travel economy

On the stay front, Hyderabad again leads the charts, with hotel bookings nearly doubling during the same period. Mumbai, too, has seen a surge, driven by strong turnout for matches involving the Mumbai India. The pattern is clear. Match schedules are compressing travel demand into tight windows, effectively turning IPL fixtures into short-term tourism peaks.

Perhaps the most dramatic spike comes from Dharamshala. Despite a population of roughly 100,000, the city saw hotel bookings surge six-fold week-on-week, driven by matches hosted by the Punjab Kings. It’s a sharp signal that the IPL can unlock high-intent travel to scenic, otherwise low-volume destinations.

Not all demand is airborne. Jaipur presents a contrasting pattern: while flights remain flat, bus bookings have jumped 83%. Fans of the Rajasthan Royals are largely opting for road travel, pointing to a more regional, price-sensitive fan base driving in from nearby states. In effect, Jaipur’s IPL economy is being built on highways rather than flight paths. In fact, the Delhi-Mumbai expressway is aiding the travel to Jaipur, reducing travel time to approximately 2.5-3.5 hours via the new Bandikui-Jaipur spur.

For Scapia, the demand surge is closely tied to a younger, increasingly mobile user base. “Most of our customers are under 35… predominantly Gen Zs and young millennials,” said Goteti. “Fifty percent of our customers are beyond metros and tier-1 cities, and they’re all travelling.”

The company’s data shows how deeply travel is embedded in consumer behaviour. Its users booked trips to 130 countries through the platform last year, with card usage spanning 175 countries. But it’s the blending of travel with experiences that’s driving engagement during IPL.Goteti points to in-app gaming tied to teams like Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Gujarat Titans, where users compete for rewards such as meeting players or travelling with teams. “These are the kind of ‘money-can’t-buy’ experiences that we give our customers,” he said, adding that 700,000–800,000 games have already been played within days of launch.

IPL is fast becoming one of the country’s most powerful short-term drivers of domestic tourism as people have begun to view it as “valuable experience”.