The long weekend could well be called a mini summer vacation going by the rush for cooler climes. With a four-day break ahead, Himachal Pradesh, J&K, Uttarakhand, hill stations of south, Panchgani, etc are attracting travellers for some relief from the heat.
Popular trains to hill stations of Shimla and Kathgodam have a waiting list of over 200. Resorts like Taj Theog Resort & Spa, Shimla, and Khyber Himalayan Resort and Spa, Gulmarg, are booked to full capacity.
“Closer-to-home destinations are witnessing a positive boost in demand with our online search seeing a jump of over 100% for short-haul destinations. Destinations like Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, Maldives and Mauritius are witnessing 40-50% growth. For Turkey and Egypt, the growth is almost 40%,” said Daniel D’Souza, president and country head, holidays, SOTC Travel.
Thomas Cook (India) has witnessed a three-fold growth in demand this week compared to the previous weeks of March and April for domestic destinations, and Thailand, Singapore, Maldives, Mauritius and Nepal among foreign destinations. “Our customers have booked popular cooler destinations like Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Leh, seven sisters and Sikkim. Goa and Andamans are popular beach destinations. Families, millennials and young professionals are also looking at drivecations to nearby destinations like Nainital, Dehradun, Mussoorie, Panchgani, Mahabaleshwar, Coorg, Ooty, Munnar and Wayanad, among others,” Rajeev Kale, president and country head, holidays, MICE, visa – Thomas Cook (India), told FE.
SOTC Travel’s bookings are witnessing a strong surge for the Easter weekend with a two-fold growth compared to other long weekends in 2022. According to the company, multi-generational families, millennials and young professionals, couples and honeymooners are driving demand, with destinations like Kashmir leading traveller preferences, followed by Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Sikkim and the North-East.
Hostel brand goSTOPS has registered a rise of 25% in bookings for this weekend compared to the previous weekend, while the growth has been 45% as compared to normal weekdays. “Dehradun, Kasol, Mukteshwar, Mussoorie, Munnar and Nainital are among the preferred destinations for the travellers this weekend,” said Pankaj Parwanda, co-founder and chief strategy officer, goSTOPS.
“As the long weekend trend has been growing over the past few years, people are looking for quick getaways from the humdrum of regular life. For the same, we at Yatra.com have observed uptake in demand and queries for staycation packages in leisure cities such as Rishikesh, Shimla, Jim Corbett, Wayanad, Nainital, Coorg and Alleppey,” a Yatra.com spokesperson said.
As per a Cleartrip spokesperson, Srinagar, Nainital, Chail, Shimla, Mukteshwar, Rishikesh, Kasauli and Kalimpong are among the popular vacationing spots for travellers this weekend. “The current quantum of bookings has surpassed levels of December 2021. UAE, Maldives and Thailand are some of the international destinations that seem popular among people planning getaways. Current international bookings have increased by 80% since January 2022,” the spokesperson said.
Nikhil Sharma, regional director, Eurasia, Wyndham Hotels and Resorts, told FE that the brand has seen strong occupancy in major cities across the country since the start of the year and this weekend is following that trend as well. The majority of the demand during this long weekend is coming from cooler destinations, including Dehradun, Kasauli and Mussoorie, Sharma said, adding that the rates are almost double at properties in such places. “With still 45% of bookings being made within three days of arrival, we are still hopeful we will see even stronger demand for this weekend in the coming days. That said, subsequent forthcoming long weekends in May/June are more in demand due to school summer vacation holidays. All leisure destinations are trading at high rates and are seeing strong occupancy,” Sharma noted.