For travellers, monsoon clouds bring rain of great deals
MUMBAI:EARLIER, monsoons meant staying put at home and avoiding messy and perhaps, cumbersome travel in the rain. But now, travel portals say taking a monsoon trip is an in-thing, with airlines and hotels providing attractive discounts for the season.
According to data from leading private tour operators, apart from trekking spots, Goa has seen an increased number of tourists this monsoon. Overall, these portals have seen an average of 15% rise in bookings as compared to the last monsoon.
A spokesperson for Makemytrip said, “We are witnessing a spurt of 10% in the bookings for travel during monsoon, especially in the number of international bookings (26% more) as compared to last year.”
Cleartrip, another travel portal, said that, while summers have traditionally been the time of the year Indians make their holiday plans, they have now shown heightened enthusiasm during the rainy season as well. “A dip in lastminute domestic fares by around 15% has provided further impetus to their travel plans. This year, the key pick for monsoon travel is defined by short haul, international and smart choice of destination,” said the spokesperson.
Rajeev Kale, president and country head, Thomas Cook, said that monsoons were typically considered to be a lean travel period for families because schools usually restart by then. “Monsoons have had scant impact on travel-hungry Indians wanting to avail packages at great rates where they save approximately 15%-20% more on tour packages compared to peak season rates.”
Anand Menon, vice-president of FCM, a travel-management company said, “Mumbai travellers have planned their monsoon travel across the Konkan coastal belt via Alibaug, Kashid, Murud, Harihareshwar Guhagar, Ganpatipule and Ratnagiri.”
Daniel D’souza, head of sales for SOTC said that selfdrive holidaying is becoming more popular amongst Indian travellers this monsoon.