New Delhi, Feb. 25 -- India's cricket season is causing a big jump in local travel. New data from Airbnb shows that more people are searching for and booking stays in cities where matches are being played. While big cities are popular, there is a huge jump in interest in smaller cities as well.

As important cricket tournaments unfold between February and May, travel demand is dispersing into emerging cricket centres such as Ranchi, Thiruvananthapuram, Jaipur and Lucknow, signalling how major sporting moments are reshaping India's tourism map.

According to Airbnb's internal data, searches by Indian guests for several match-hosting cities during the cricket season rose significantly compared to the same period last year, with some of the ...