Amid Covid & global chaos, Indians' big fear: Missing that flight
Despite global uncertainties, travel is booming. Summer holiday packages are more expensive this year. Destinations like Vietnam, Sri Lanka and Georgia are popular, but Thailand remains a favorite. Domestic spots like Ladakh and Goa are also in demand. Bookings have recovered after a brief lull. Southern India, Uttarakhand and Goa are seeing increased interest.
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Kanika Mehra, a schoolteacher from Noida is looking up flights and hotels for her upcoming holiday this month. It's turning out to be a difficult choice. June flight fares for Vietnam, a destination at the top of her list, are about 50% higher than those in July, signalling high demand during the summer school break. Mehra, wanting to escape the domestic summer rush in the hills, turns to Sri Lanka. But the southwest monsoon season is playing on her mind, though the fares are lighter on the pocket.Flight fares for Georgia, another emerging destination, are up as well and the visa will take over 10 days to arrive. She says she'll likely pick Thailand eventually, considering the easier access and more reasonable fares.Despite global uncertainties, and the recent spike in Covid-19 cases in India, travel sentiment remains strong and holiday packages for ongoing summer breaks for both domestic and international destinations are pricier by up to 15 % year-on-year, said travel experts.'Travellers had been in the waitand-watch mode last month following Operation Sindoor, but bookings are now happening full throttle,' said a travel industry insider.Fares could rise up to 15%, especially to international destinations such as Georgia, Vietnam and Sri Lanka, which have turned out to be more affordable than some of the top domestic spots over the past year, said Tavleen Bhatia, chief marketing and revenue officer at Cleartrip.In 2024, Vietnam welcomed about 500,000 Indian tourists, a fourfold jump from pre-pandemic levels. India was the top primary market for Sri Lanka in December last year with 52,881 arrivals, accounting for a 21.3% share. Around 124,300 Indian tourists visited Georgia in 2024, marking a 46.8% increase from the previous year.Domestic destinations in demand are Ladakh, Himachal Pradesh, Goa and Kerala while popular international ones include Bhutan, Thailand and Sri Lanka.A three-night Goa getaway package for the second week of June for two adults is priced at Rs 66,290, inclusive of flights, hotel, one activity and four meals on a popular travel portal.In comparison, a four-night-five-day package for two at Ha Long Bay in Vietnam for June 22 is substantially lower at Rs 47,932 on the same platform. That includes hotel accommodation, four activities and nine meals.On average, package prices are up 7-8% compared to last summer, primarily driven by high demand, fuel prices and dynamic airfare fluctuations, Jatinder Paul Singh, CEO and cofounder of Viacation.'For domestic travel, Ladakh, Himachal Pradesh, Andaman and Ooty are among the top picks,' he said. 'Internationally, destinations like Bali, Thailand, Maldives and Sri Lanka continue to attract significant interest from Indian travellers.' Occupancies are 13% higher than last year for StayVista while average room rates are up 6%, said Amit Damani, cofounder of the villa and bungalow rental company. 'There was a concern around how summer bookings will pan out following the conflict between India and Pakistan, but bookings have bounced back from the second half of May,' he said. 'We are especially seeing higher demand in Southern India, Uttarakhand and Goa.' Bhutan is seeing high interest, said SD Nandakumar, president and country head for holidays and corporate tours at SOTC Travel.There is a notable surge in travel interest for Tokyo and Abu Dhabi this summer with the destinations seeing a 110% and 180% increase in searches, respectively, from the same time last year, said Santosh Kumar, country manager for India, Sri Lanka, Maldives and Indonesia at Booking.com.'Manali, Darjeeling, Rishikesh and Munnar are among the top 10 most searched destinations this month,' he added.
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