Making India incredible again
According to global data provider OAG, India’s domestic capacity increased from -30% to -23% in a month in terms of domestic market seats, making it the third-largest market after China and the US. With domestic inquiries trickling in, travel agents and t
We saw domestic bookings commence a week prior to Diwali, although nothing substantial. In the last two months our team had done around 30 bookings averaging 5-7 nights each. Summer itineraries this year are expected to be around 15-18 days, to destinations in the Northeast, Kullu, Manali, Shimla, Coorg, Ooty and Kerala including the backwaters and Munnar. Many flights to Odisha have also commenced, so we are sure to see a tilt towards that state, too.
We were predominantly into international bookings. However, we have been getting a steady streak of enquiries for domestic travel. Initially it was for weekends and driveable locations only. But, over the last few days, we are seeing enquiries for longer itineraries for the states which have spelt clarity on travel SOPs. Corporates are still in slumber though and may take another six months to revive. All states should formalise a common SOP to gather momentum.
Weekend holidays are where we are seeing maximum uptick. To ease bookings, we have curated a list of popular destinations and hotels across categories and budgets, and made them available under a ‘Weekend Deals’ tab on our website. Destinations like Goa, Udaipur, Jaipur, Shimla and Alibaug are among the favourites. Travel has started mostly with FITs, but there is a fair portion of families as well. But, trip durations are on average shorter. However, we take this as a sign of gradual revival.
The market is bouncing back but slowly with the domestic market, and we have made substantial bookings in the past few months. People are looking at extended weekends using Ro-Ro ferries to Alibaug to reside in fivebedroom villas with private pools. North India is also popular as people have realised they can experience snow in Shimla, Kullu-Manali and Srinagar – these destinations are seeing full flights and no hotels available!
Domestic and sustainable travel is slowly picking up in the Northeast. We have handled a few FIT tours ranging from 3-6 nights covering either Assam and Meghalaya, or Arunachal Pradesh, or Tripura in the last two months. We have also noticed that travellers from Assam are booking through tour operators. So far, four families from Assam on different dates have taken a day-long tour to such places or with a night stay, through us. We are hopeful that tourism will revive, albeit with a change.
We have operated 14-odd files till now which is a start, but we have a long way to go. It is more of weekend movement and there are hardly any long-itinerary movements at the moment. Destinations that are drivable within 4-6 hours are popular. Self-driving FITs and families have started travelling, but package tours are yet to pick up. Most tourists taking self-driven trips are visiting Rajasthan (Udaipur, Kumbhalgarh and Mount Abu).