Most tourist destinations sold out for extended weekend
2
Jaipur: Most tourist destinations in Rajasthan have been sold out over the extended weekend, with hoteliers seizing the rush to raise room tariffs by up to 30%.
However, visitor movement in hotspots like Jaisalmer and Bikaner remained subdued, with occupancies hovering around 30%, compared to full houses in many other destinations.
Pristine Jawai and popular destinations like Ranthambore and Pushkar have been fully booked, while Udaipur and Jaipur are expected to experience overtourism, leading to traffic jams, overcrowded monuments, and streets.
"Anticipating tourist rush, we met the traffic police authorities a few days ago to make plans for congested stretches and points," said Ranvijay Singh, senior vice president of the Federation of Rajasthan Hotels.
Singh said even though the number of hotels increased in the past couple of years, most of them have been fully booked. "The Dharali tragedy has also made people ïn Delhi, NCR and Chandigarh reluctant to travel to hills. The coming weekend would reflect the rush on the streets and tourist spots," added Singh.
Despite an increasing room inventory, occupancy Pushkar hotels has increased to over 90%.
Like in Jaipur and Udaipur, the tariffs also went up to 30% there, said industry representatives.
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Rajendra Singh Rathore, president of the Pushkar Hotel Association, said, "Most of the visitors are from the Delhi and NCR region who would be driving down. After a dull summer due to Operation Sindoor, when travel for leisure almost came to a halt, we are witnessing a resurgence which is a good sign for the industry as the tourist season starts from Sept."
But Jaisalmer is missing out on the boom due to its old problems of connectivity.
Jitendra Singh Rathore, co-chairman of PHDCCI-Rajasthan, said, "The occupancy in Jaisalmer is not more than 30% for the coming weekend. The main reason is the lack of flights and trains. We have two trains that arrive at odd hours. There is no flight connectivity. There are not many vacationers who will travel such a long distance by car and waste a whole day on roads."
Others said rains in the past weeks also made the weather travel-friendly, which drew more visitors.
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