Comments
It’s that time of year again – the big fat Indian wedding season, and this year, it is longer with a higher number of auspicious dates, auguring good news for a host of industries. Already apparel, jewellery, white goods, travel and hospitality sectors are beginning to witness a positive rub-off effect.
The first phase of the wedding season, which will see 18 auspicious days till December 16, is expected to see 48 lakh weddings generating an estimated business worth ₹6 lakh crore, as per traders’ body CAIT.
Rosy outlook
Vikaas Gutgutia, Founder and MD, Ferns N Petals, which offers wedding services, said, “This wedding season is shaping up to be one of the strongest yet, with a 20-25 per cent increase in bookings compared to last year. We are also seeing a shift towards luxury weddings besides increased demand for premium decor, floral arrangements, food styling and unique food presentations.”
Indian travellers are on the move this wedding season, said Aloke Bajpai, Group CEO, ixigo. “Flight bookings to major metro hubs and top leisure destinations like Delhi, Mumbai, Srinagar, Jaipur, and Goa are seeing a strong 70-80 per cent YoY increase.”
He says that Tier-II cities are powering the wedding season this year. Varanasi bookings are up by an impressive 265 per cent and Gorakhpur by 109 per cent. Amritsar, Chandigarh and Patna have also recorded an increase of over 70 per cent in flight bookings, he said.
Honeymooners are opting more for overseas destinations especially in South-East Asia and the Middle East with some destinations seeing a 120-130 per cent YoY rise in bookings for November and December, Bajpai said.
Retailers upbeat
Retailers are gungho. Pushpa Bector, Senior Executive Director and Business Head, DLF Retail, said, “This is the longest wedding season in terms of number of days and I believe that will boost consumption. At our malls especially in Emporio, we have introduced a whole host of new brands, including young designer-led brands.”
Arun AB, VP - EBOs, Libas said, “The wedding season has been a strong driver this H2, significantly fuelling demand and driving footfalls across the market.”
Comments
Comments
Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.
We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of TheHindu Businessline and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.