After facing a massive disruption due to Covid restrictions, the travel and hospitality industry is seeing an uptake in bookings ahead of the summer holiday season. Online Travel Agency (OTA) EaseMyTrip has witnessed a 30 per cent jump in travel bookings on a month-on-month basis, while current flight booking trends on Goibibo indicate that holiday destinations, including Ladakh, Kashmir, Goa, Kochi and Dehradun, are seeing a 100 per cent recovery in bookings for the summer season.
Even travel agencies like Thomas Cook India are witnessing a four times surge in demand and SOTC is experiencing a noteworthy two times growth in demand week-on-week since February 1.
Trends from hotels and resorts, too, are mimicking the upswing trends from travel agencies. Although Mahindra Holidays saw a marginal dip in January 2022 occupancy, it is hopeful of closing Q4 FY22 on a strong note as February and March have always been good months for them. “With the reduction in Covid cases and easing of restrictions, along with a visible, robust demand due to the upcoming summer season, we are extremely optimistic about the recovery of the sector,” said Miguel Munoz, Chief Resorts Officer, Mahindra Holidays and Resorts India Limited.
Vikram Lalvani, Chief Operating Officer, Resort Operations, Customer Experience Management, Sterling Holidays and Resorts, too, is confident that its bookings will exceed the 2019 revenues as there is a pent-up demand for travel.
Even multi-brand hotel chain Accor has seen a hike in occupancies. In fact, Puneet Dhawan, Senior V-P, Operations, Accor India & South Asia, said it has observed a decrease in the booking window as last-minute bookings and spontaneous plans pick up.
According to Goibibo and Thomas Cook India, the bookings have been coming for popular tourists hotspots, including Srinagar, Goa, Dehradun, Kochi and Leh, whereas Mahindra Holidays and Resorts is seeing bookings for Alibaug, Netrang, Gir and Naldehra.
Lalvani of Sterling said that ‘drive-to-destinations’ will continue to remain the first choice for travellers, and there will also be early bookings for long-haul holidays covering multiple destinations within a region such as Munnar-Alleppey- Thekkady; Thiruvanamalai-Madurai-Kodaikanal; Nainital-Corbett; Mussoorie-Rishikesh; and Darjeeling-Gangtok.
Post-Covid, international travel has dipped drastically. However, some short-haul international destinations such as Dubai and Maldives continue to be the top of the list for international travel. These were among the first countries that opened its borders to double-vaccinated Indians. EaseMyTrip’s co-founder, Nishant Pitti, said that with Australia too easing up norms, it is a good sign for leisure travel.
Recent trends indicate that international travel to and from India is likely to open up soon. Rajeev Kale, President & Country Head, Holidays, MICE, Visa, Thomas Cook (India) Limited, said demand is being seen for international destinations such as Switzerland, France, Maldives, Sri Lanka, Turkey, Egypt, Mauritius, Nepal, and Dubai-Abu Dhabi for the last month of Expo 2020, and with Australia welcoming back tourists. recently. However, in light of the invasion of Russia in Ukraine and the geopolitical crisis globally, it is likely to hamper international travel.