Soaring mercury, elections hit summer travel plans

Soaring summer heat coupled with the upcoming General elections in April and May has cast a shadow on the travel plans of holidayers during this summer, with a dip in takers for summer tour packages. Anticipating the national elections, a good number of travel companies have drawn back their regular plans on flight tickets for the summer season.

“With elections kicking in, a good number of pilgrims who booked tickets for Umrah, an Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca that can be undertaken at any time of the year, have approached us seeking to defer the travel dates considering the General elections in Kerala. Normally, at least 15 days are required to complete the pilgrimage,” said Sajeer Padikkal, president, Malabar Tourism Council.

Further, there has been a shift in the travel plans of some families in Kerala that normally fly out of the country during the summer after the annual school exams to unite with

Families that fly out of the country after summer exams have preferred to stay home with their expat relatives planning to fly home owing to elections

Malabar Tourism Council

the expatriate heads of family or other relatives. A good number of them prefer to stay at home this time with husbands or other family members planning to fly home this summer season after being bitten by the poll bug, said Mr. Padikkal.

The oppressive heat also upset the plans of the hospitality sector in Kerala with the shift in tourist habits. Summer vacationers used to flock to the cooler hill stations in Idukki or Wayanad to dodge the extreme heat. However, demand for summer getaways is yet to witness a surge, said George Scaria, Managing Director, Keralavoyages India Pvt. Ltd.

The summer is becoming more gruelling and the maximum temperature in the popular tourist destination of Munnar is hovering around 33°C. The majority of the hotels in Munnar do not have air conditioning due to the speciality of weather in the hill station. However, this time there have been a good number of cancellations after the tourists demanded airconditioned rooms during the summer, says Mr. Scaria. Around 5,000 rooms were added to the hospitality ector in Munnar alone in the last five years.

Fastpaced urbanisation of an environmentally fragile destination, coupled with the change in climate, sends the mercury up in the barometers across hill stations.

As per the automatic weather station readings of the India Meteorological Department (IMD), the maximum temperature is hovering between 26°C and 38°C in Idukki, and between 30°C and 35°C in Wayanad. As per industry experts, this is something the hospitality industry has not anticipated in the popular hill stations.