Feb saw more check-ins than Christmas: Report

MUMBAI: In the third week of February, India has witnessed 24,700 check-ins, reveals a report by RateGain, a leading provider of software as a services (SaaS) product that helps travel and hospitality companies with revenue and brand engagement.

According to the report, the current week of February is seeing higher check-ins than Christmas, when India’s recovery crossed 116%. In contrast, December and January recorded 21,363 and 19,029 check-ins.

Bookings surged in Goa for both February 15 and February 22 by over 20% after it had dipped in January. The cities that saw a spike due to Valentine’s Day and wedding season, were Jaipur, Shimla, Mumbai, Puducherry, Ludhiana, Chandigarh, and Delhi. However, Udaipur saw the highest amount of engagement in India on Facebook.

The report states that Indians of all age groups have begun moving out of cities, filling flights to almost 100% capacity in domestic destinations as international travel which was mostly restricted to UAE.

According to RateGain, India’s recovery was above 100% for all the weeks of December. “It was observed that Indians booked last-minute travel during

the end of December and the first week of January. Popular destinations such as Goa, Shimla, and Jammu still figured in the top 10 destinations for the first month of 2021,” read the report.

“In the new normal, Indian millennial travellers will play a critical role in the recovery of the region and therefore this recovery is not only encouraging for the domestic hotel industry but also for neighbouring Asian markets that rely on China and India to drive their tourism markets.”

Kamesh Shukla, executive vice-president and head, Asia Pacific Middle East Africa (APMEA), RateGain, said, “Inspired by travel taken by their family and friends, people continued to travel to tourist destinations such as Goa, Shimla, and Jammu two weeks after the New Year, emphasising the role that social media is now playing in the recovery of the industry.”

Highlighting the top social media trends, the report said that hotels in the Maldives were 10 times more engaged on social media in the last quarter of 2020 after it opened its corridor to India.

“Indian hotels saw their highest surge in engagement during November, due to a surge experienced by hotels in Mumbai, as they received their guests during the long Diwali weekend for staycations. Hotels in Mumbai drove the most engagement on Facebook and Instagram, almost 150% higher than the average engagement received by hotels in other cities. The Bengaluru industry witnessed the least engagement from Indian travellers. Goa, which was the most booked destination in December and had the most check-ins in December and January, saw three times higher engagement during November on Facebook,” the report said.