Tour operators are already flush with 80 per cent bookings.
Fancy a Diwali in Dubai or the picturesque beaches of Kerala? Well that's where the travel-loving Gujarati seems to be headed to what with high hotel fares and increased air fares to Southeast Asian countries acting as dampeners.
Tour operators in Gujarat are already flush with bookings as they have garnered almost 80 percent bookings for the upcoming Diwali break falling between 22 October to 5 November.
Once a top destination for travellers from Gujarat, South East Asian countries such as Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand seem to have lost its sway on tourists owing to high hotel fares.
"Southeast Asian countries used to be top holiday destinations for Gujarati travellers but the hotel industry there have increased their fares by 20 per cent due to spiralling land costs and a good tourist season ahead. This has turned to be an opportunity for Dubai, which has brought down its hotel fares and air fares to increase tourist footfall. So far, we have received 100 percent bookings this year for Dubai and have had to increase tourist intake considering the increase in demand," said Sanjay Shah, managing director, Flamingo Travels, which has till now done bookings for 600 people for Dubai for the upcoming Diwali break from Gujarat.
Dubai, which was considered a premium destination as far as tourists were concerned, has slowly worked the realty lull to its advantage by wooing travellers with competitive hotel and air fares.
"The land prices in Dubai have got pretty competitive as opposed to earlier when they were on a premium and this has resulted in a surge in demand for Dubai. Meanwhile rising land rates have forced the hotel industry in Singapore to raise their tariffs thereby resulting in a 20 per cent increase in travel fares to Singapore. We have witnessed around 5 percent increase in the airfares of airlines flying to Southeast Asian destinations as they have increased their passenger intake. This has resulted in higher ground costs for us but there is still sustained interest to South east Asian destinations," said Anand K
"We have had a 85 per cent year-on-year growth on the number of bookings from Gujarat for Diwali season. For the Diwali season we have till date serviced in excess of 20,000 queries. The average spend for holiday makers from Gujarat across domestic and international holiday seekers is in the spectrum of Rs 35,000 to Rs 55,000," added Anand.
