India prepares for revenge travel again as restrictions ease and infections reduce

Economy

Tamanna Inamdar | Senior Editor

Updated Sep 22, 2021 | 19:11 IST

Villa booking site Saffron Stays says villas have started getting booked out for New Years Eve by mid-September displaying the eagerness of Indians to holiday again. Hotel chains hope for 70% occupancy.

Representational Image | Photo Credit: iStock Images

Key Highlights

Weekend and holiday bookings go up as vaccination numbers rise and restrictions ease

The trend of luxury hotels and private villas being preferred by well heeled travellers continues

Room rents in popular areas expected to go up by 20 % compared to last year

Mumbai: As the numbers of doubly vaccinated Indians grow, more and more are looking to travel once again bringing some hope of revival to the beleaguered tourism industry. Airline occupancies have been growing steadily over the last three months and the civil aviation ministry's decision to increase capacities to 85% will surely help. While there are reports that foreign tourist visas could be allowed soon, domestic tourism remains the driving force behind the recovery.

"Right now all travel activities are led by domestic tourism and within that we have seen it exactly the way it happened post wave one", says Rajesh Magow, Group CEO of Make My Trip. Destinations where Indians can travel are still restricted, but the enthusiasm is showing in places that are allowing Indians in. "On our platform the recovery rate was 150% for just Maldives", he remarks.

The trend of longer 'work-vacation' stays is dwindling meanwhile, as more and more offices bring people back in, but the habit of driving down to destinations with friends and family is only growing says Devendra Parulekar, Founder of Saffron Stays. Speaking to ET Now on the 'India Development Debate', he mentions that bookings for year end stays have already begun as early as mid September and weekend bookings are looking robust. The preference for good quality, safe accomodation is also coming with a higher price tag. "I clearly notice a 15-20% jump in my rates if i compare December to December. You definitely see a raise", he says.

Watch Tamanna Inamdar discussing the rebound in tourism sector here: