Consumers opened their wallets for the weekend of August 13-15
After a two-year hiatus, domestic travel is finally picking up again. Ahead of the bank holidays and the long weekend leading up to Independence Day, travel companies are seeing a double spike in bookings.
Monsoon is the time when people usually prefer weekend getaways. Given that August has the most long weekends, people seem to be making the most of it.
“Raksha Bandhan is a school holiday / optional corporate holiday and the Independence Day immediately following Monday. Customers are making the most of this long weekend – our internal data suggests a double spike in demand,” Daniel D’Souza, President & Country Head – Holidays, SOTC Travel.
EaseMyTrip is also seeing a strong booking trend for the Raksha Bandhan – Independence Day long weekend. People use it for short breaks to relax and enjoy with their loved ones, explained Rikant Pittie, co-founder of EaseMyTrip, adding that the top five destinations where EaseMyTrip sees many bookings are Goa, Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh, Coorg and Kerala are. all thanks to the monsoon.
This leads to high hotel bookings for short breaks nearby. According to Oyo’s latest report, over 50 percent of those surveyed wanted to take a monsoon trip outside the city limits.
Prahlad Krishnamurthi, Cleartrip’s Chief Business Officer, noted that the current tide of hotel bookings for the upcoming long weekend shows pent-up demand, with a 15 percent increase in bookings for holiday destinations such as Lonavala, Udaipur, Ooty and Pondicherry.
“Consumer sentiment towards holiday travel remains strong and is expected to continue to rise in the coming months. Consumers have opened their wallets for this long weekend (August 13-15 period). We are seeing a 2x increase in premium bookings (>₹10,000 per room) specifically for this weekend,” he said.
Weekend breaks are often for travelers on a tight budget. Again, hostels have seen an uptick in destinations like Goa, Udaipur, Munnar and Coorg, with bookings approaching 100 percent, said Pallavi Agarwal, founder and CEO of goSTOPS.
Meanwhile, destinations like Rishikesh, Manali, Palampur, Naggar, Kasar Devi and Nainital are showing similar trends as in previous months, she said.
“However, the late monsoon and resulting landslides could put a damper on hill targets. There are several factors that come into play when planning a weekend gateway — vacations, workload, aligning schedules with friends and family, and sometimes just waiting for the right time,” she noted.
In this case, people also choose leisure destinations like Gujarat, Rajasthan and Assam to explore the wilderness of India’s premier national parks like Sasan Gir, Ranthambore, Keoladeo and Kaziranga, according to SOTC data.
Published on
July 30, 2022
