The three consecutive long weekends, which kick off with Eid on Monday (September 21) have brought some cheer to the beleaguered Indian travel and tourism players with the industry expecting a 10-15% increase in revenue compared to last month. Consumers taking up attractive packages being offered by airlines, hotels and tour operators has led to buoyant mood in the industry.
In fact, with Eid and Dussera (September 28) falling on successive Mondays followed by Gandhi Jayanti on a Saturday, analysts feel that these long weekends will not only help shore up revenues for the September but also mark the beginning of the peak season, which usually kicks off during the second week of October. ?On back of the long weekends and better signs from the global economy, bookings are up 15-17% for September against the same period last year,? said Ankur Bhatia, managing director of Amadeus India, one of the largest travel distribution companies.
However, not everyone is happy. Vivek Nair, vice-chairman and managing director of the six properties strong hospitality chain Leela Palaces, Hotels and Resorts said while the occupancy in the group?s resorts is looking up, corporate travel is expected to decline as most organisations will be closed for the festivals.
Apart from a slew of timely holidays, what has added to the rush is the fact that the global economic crisis has led to an across-the-board decline in rates. Virat Verma, CEO of Global Hospitality Consultants said though hotel room rates are on their way up, it is unlikely that they will see the traditional 10-15% increase over last year?s levels as it happens in every peak season.
Moreover, the discounts offered by Air India and Jet Airways for select two-three days saw a spurt in advance booking. Vijay Thakur, president of Indian Association of Tour Operators (IATO) said people are taking advantage of attractive packages being offered by international destinations like Bangkok, Hong Kong, Macau and Philippines among others. ?People can travel to places like Bangkok for Rs 13,000 to Rs 15,000 for three-four days. Many travellers are lapping up such packages,? he said.
Closer to home, while travel giant Cox and Kings is offering 50% cash back on international travel, online travel agency Makemytrip has been promoting short-haul travel over the weekend through its campaign Offisial Atyachaar.