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Travel portals have seen a surge in bookings aided by several rounds of discount offers and strong demand over the festive weekend.
"A lot of fliers appear to have utilised the promotional fares and discounts to travel on the October 2nd weekend. This is evident from the fact that the number of airline passengers who have booked their travel (with us) for October 2014 is already two-thirds of the total number of our air passengers of October 2013 . Nevertheless, we expect significant last-minute bookings given the increasing propensity for impulse-travel and a very tempting long weekend,'' said Ranjeet Oak, senior vice president, MakeMyTrip.
According to MakeMyTrip, the number of bookings for the first two days (Oct 1-2) is twice the average for the month. In fact, this spike is seen all through the long weekend with the number of people flying in the first six days (Oct 1-6) being 1.45 times the monthly average.
Tour operators and hotels too have seen a growth as people are taking short trips both within India and overseas from October 2 (Gandhi Jayanti) till October 6 (Eid). The strong demand around this festive weekend is an indicator of a positive growth in travel this winter, industry sources said.
" Our bookings have almost doubled over the last week. We are still continuing to see a rise in bookings with the long weekend approaching. The fares over the last week have been fairly competitive, but we have started seeing a marginal rise in airfares now and anticipate fares to rise as the weekend approaches,'' said Sharat Dhall, president of Yatra.com.
Shibani Phadkar, senior vice president and head leisure travel (outbound) Thomas Cook said there is a significant growth in number of customers seeking 6-7 days tour by extending Durga Pooja and Dassera holiday. Short haul destinations like Thailand, Dubai and Singapore have witnessed 25-40% rise in hotel bookings for this weekend, she added.
"The economy has stabilised and there are more inquiries now. The strong demand during this festive weekend is an indicator of positive growth in travel this winter. Even first time visitors are seeking tours to Europe or Australia. We are expecting 15 growth in outbound tours in comparison to 2013,'' said Guldeep Singh Sahni, president of the Outbound Tour Operators of India.
Fares for travel on Oct 2
Fares available last week
Mumbai-Delhi- Rs 5,286
Bangalore-Delhi- Rs 7,446
Chennai-Delhi - TRs 6,378
Fare available today
Mumbai - Delhi - Rs 6343
Bangalore - Delhi - Rs 8045
Chennai - Delhi - Rs 7653
Source - Yatra.com
