Holi is an exuberant festival where people splash and smear each other with coloured powder, paint and water.
Countries that have seen the most flight bookings to India for the period around the Holi festival are the United States, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, according to analysis conducted by Travelport.
Bookings from Middle Eastern countries in the top 10 totaled 35,300, half (49.8%) of total bookings made in top 10 countries.
Sandeep Dwivedi, chief operating officer at InterGlobe Technology Quotient, Travelport’s operator in six countries across the Asia Pacific region, including India and Sri Lanka, said, “Tourists today, more than anything, are looking for truly unique and memorable experiences.
“Holi is one of the most colourful and spectacular religious festivals in the world so tends to attract a high number of tourists.”
Holi is an exuberant festival where people splash and smear each other with coloured powder, paint and water.
Not just in India, but also in other countries with large Indian populations, entire neighbourhoods come together on Holi – which this year falls on March 21 – with festivities spilling onto open streets over two days.
Traditionally marking the arrival of spring, Holi has evolved into a celebration of love, fertility, friendship and youth across the world, and is seen as an opportunity for people to get together with friends and loved ones.
Groups of revellers go around shouting, “Holi hai bhai Holi hai, bura na mano, Holi hai” (It’s Holi, don’t be offended, it’s Holi), which is a warning as well as a plea for forgiveness.
It is a licence to indulge in pranks, such as throwing water-filled balloons at strangers, or creeping up on parents and older relatives and drenching them with coloured water.
If you’re in Little India in Singapore or elsewhere today, you’ve been warned.