Mumbai: In the first half of this year cities in the southern region of the country including Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad and Kochi were the most preferred destination among the domestic as well as international travellers, according to a report.

South India tops the list for both international travellers visiting India as well as Indians travelling within India with destinations like Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad and Kochi making it to the list of top 10 most popular states in the first half of 2019, according to a report by digital travel company Booking.com.

While looking at north India, New Delhi, Jaipur and Agra were among top booked by travellers.

For Indians travelling domestically, destinations like Amritsar and Agra which were a popular choice last year during this time have been replaced with destinations like Coimbatore and Varanasi.

The report is based on the number of bookings by all travellers going to India between January 1 to June 30, 2019.

Rishikesh, Varanasi, Tiruchchirappalli, Nedumbassery and Munnar were amongst the fastest-growing destinations in first half of 2019, according to a report by digital travel company Booking.com.

India's tourist market is increasingly growing, thriving with opportunities as a consequence of well informed and conscious travellers, wanting to explore newer destinations and accommodation options," Ritu Mehrotra, Country Manager, India, Sri Lanka and Maldives at Booking.com said.

"While we've seen travel as a category grow in the first half of 2019, with increased digital penetration and social media usage this trend looks set to continue, with travellers seeking frequent contemporary getaways," she added. (PTI)

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