The Republic Day long weekend beginning Saturday is driving a surge in travel with hotels and resorts witnessing an increase in bookings led by high demand, reflecting a decisive shift in traveller behaviour and the rise of micro-getaways, industry players said. The increasing preference for short, experience-led holidays is emerging as a strong trend shaping the country's leisure travel market.
'Adventure travel, cultural tours, and wellness retreats are in high demand.'
Online travel portals are flooded with flight and train bookings, hotels teeming with requests for accommodation, and spiritual merchandise on e-commerce platforms is selling like hotcakes. As the consecration ceremony of Ram Mandir in Ayodhya on January 22 draws near, Indians across the country are putting their travelling boots on as the temple frenzy catches on. India's largest travel technology (traveltech) platform MakeMyTrip (MMT) has witnessed a substantial four-fold increase in bookings for Ayodhya compared to the previous year.
Online travel firm MakeMyTrip's top executives Deep kalra and Rajesh Magow have decided to draw 'zero salary' from April 2020, while the rest of its leadership team will take a reduction of around 50 per cent in their compensation amid the covid-19 outbreak. Group Executive Chairman Deep Kalra and its group CEO Rajesh Magow have decided to take 'zero salary' from April 2020 as the company plans to undertake multiple "tough measures" to keep overall expenses at a minimum amid the covid-19 outbreak.
With Onam and Raksha Bandhan just around the corner, the festival season is ready to kick off in full swing. As people embrace the celebratory spirit, companies anticipate a surge in sales this year. Consumer durables firms are expecting strong growth of 40-50 per cent in the premium segment during the upcoming season. Appliance makers also foresee increased demand for cooling appliances - refrigerators and air conditioners - which were impacted by unseasonal rainfall.
India's largest online travel agency, MakeMyTrip said that it is premature to assess the impact of Omicron variant on overseas tour bookings. Others in the travel sector however are worried about cancellations in the coming days as countries tighten travel restrictions. "It is too early to assess the impact of the new Covid-19 variant on outbound travel. "Additional protocols are already set in any case from several countries which will help contain the variant coming to India.
For Indians, Sri Lanka is one of the favourite venues for destination weddings. But last month, when a family from Delhi chartered a Vistara Airbus A320 to Colombo, it packed much more than the standard paraphernalia of clothes, gifts and jewellery. The family ferried meals from Delhi for all the guests and to cover their entire stay in Colombo due to the food and fuel shortages in the island nation.
Online travel portals and airlines say the demand from companies is being led by essential services sectors like pharmaceutical, oil and gas, and power.
Budget carrier SpiceJet on Friday triggered off a price war in the aviation industry announcing one-way discounted fares starting Rs 1,999 for travel between September and December this year, prompting IndiGo to follow with a similar offer soon after.
India on Sunday announced temporary suspension of e-visa facility for Chinese travellers and foreigners residing in the neighbouring country and issued a fresh advisory saying anyone with travel history to China since January 15 can be quarantined.
Domestic budget carriers SpiceJet, Indigo and GoAir have rolled out another sale offer with fares starting from Rs 1,699 for a limited period on domestic routes.
No-frills carrier SpiceJet has put ten lakh seats on the block with base fares starting as low as Rs 999, which are lower than a 3-AC train ticket, for a one-way journey under a limited period offer.
For now, Bounce, Shuttl, Fab Hotels, Instamojo, Zomato, Curefit, and HealthifyMe, among others, are going for salary deductions. Most of the consumer internet start-ups, besides those who are in the grocery delivery, education tech, and video conferencing business, would ultimately lay-off people and cut back salaries.
The issues include not getting refunds on airline and hotel bookings, getting charged a service fee even if airlines have waived cancellation charges and so on. Complaints are piling up on Twitter, Facebook and other social media channels as more and more people cancel their travel plans due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.
'We feel EMI holidays should pick up now.' How travel companies are trying to win customers after demonetisation.
A move to extend visas on arrival facility to 150 countries and make world heritage sites more tourist friendly has been welcomed.
Anticipating a weak demand in the traditionally lean January-March period, most domestic airlines on Tuesday reduced fares massively after no-frills carrier SpiceJet announced a steep 50 per cent discount on base fares and fuel surcharges across sectors.
India Inc was, perhaps, watching out for a repeat of the dot-com bubble burst of the early 2000s.
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