Rising Covid-19 and H3N2 cases across states, a turmoil in global banking, and job cuts across technology and some other sectors are not impacting occupancies at hotels or summer travel bookings just yet and forward bookings are on track, said hoteliers and travel platforms.
“There is no impact whatsoever. In fact, we also spoke to our travel partners to assess if the pace has slowed down for forward bookings and we are told there is no diversion. All our bookings are on track and we haven't seen any cancellations,” said Vikramjit Singh, president, Lemon Tree Hotels.
Aloke Bajpai, group CEO and co-founder, ixigo, said the platform is seeing a strong week-on-week growth in bookings and searches.
On ixigo, bookings for routes such as Mumbai to Doha and Bengaluru to Doha are up by over 100% and 50% year on year, respectively, for March. Bookings for Delhi to Dubai and Mumbai to London are up by 18% and 20%, respectively, this month over the same time last year.
“The summer schedule for domestic flights is lower this year and this can make last-minute bookings costly for domestic flyers,” Bajpai added. As per reports, Thursday’s infection count was the highest in nearly six months, with India recording about 3,016 new Covid cases in 24 hours. Sectors such as technology, which drive bulk bookings for hotels in key business cities, have been facing headwinds.
A MakeMyTrip spokesperson said the company has not seen any impact at this point. “Our traffic, search and demand signals continue to be stable,” the spokesperson added.
Sunjae Sharma, managing director, India and Southwest Asia, Hyatt India Consultancy, said the chain does not see an impact yet. “The vaccines are helping us. From a pandemic maybe it’s turning to an endemic. People are more aware. And hotel brands have integrated services and solutions to pre-empt and control an outbreak,” he added.
Udit Kumar, co-founder of Brij Hotels, said the chain is expecting a promising demand for its properties, especially at hill destinations, ahead of the summer travel season. “While we haven't seen an impact on bookings due to rising Covid or H3N2 cases, we remain vigilant and prepared to adapt to changes in travel restrictions or regulations,” he added.
Search queries for April and May have gone up 56% for summer travel this year, said Rohit Sharma, COO of Abhibus.
Read more at: https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/epaper/delhicapital/2023/mar/31/et-comms/nothings-stopping-travel-hungry-indians/articleshow/99126228.cms
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