PUNE: Travel bookings to domestic tourist destinations like Goa, Rajasthan and Amritsar as well as international hot spots such as Thailand and Dubai for the first long weekend of 2024 during the Republic Day have registered a significant surge.
Travel firms’ representatives claimed that those who missed out on holidays during the Christmas and New Year’s eve were planning a short vacation in the upcoming long weekend — Jan 26 to 28 (Friday, Saturday and Sunday).
Santosh Gupta, the owner of Shree Vinayak Holidays, told TOI, “Some travellers are leaving on Thursday itself by taking an extra leave from work. Major bookings are for Goa, Amritsar, Thailand and Dubai. We see more people heading out during the Republic Day long wee kend than previous long weekends.”
Syed Zakir Hussaini, treasurer, Travel Agents Association of India (TAAI), said, “We have lots of bookings for Goa and Himachal Pradesh for the long weekend. We had a group tour of 22 people to Maldives, but they cancelled it. They are now heading to Himachal. In comparison to previous long weekends, the Republic Day long weekend is seeing good rush. Many people could not travel during the Christmas and the New Year holidays. This segment is planning to travel around Jan 26.” He said while the hotel room tariff in Goa had been stable, room rates in Himachal Pradesh increased recently following rush after the Maldives-Lakshadweep issue surfaced. Many shelved their Maldives plan and opted for Himachal Pradesh or Kerala, Hussaini said.
Pawan Sachdeva, director, Pacific Travels, said, “There is a huge rush for Ayodhya for the Ram Temple, with hotels and flights to the destination running fully booked. There is also a demand for Bengaluru and Sri Lanka. After people cancelled Maldives, there were a lot of queries for beach destinations in India, such as Kochi in Kerala and Puducherry in TN. Enquiries have also gone up for international destinations with free visas like Sri Lanka, Thailand, Dubai, Vietnam and Cambodia.”
Flight delays push tourists to nearby spots
Sachdeva said the demand for Rajasthan and Gujarat was also picking up due to the Kutch Rann Utsav. Many people were travelling during the Republic Day long weekend because the next long weekend was only in March , he said.
Mehboob Shaikh, chairman, TAAI Pune chapter, and director of Travel Elect India Pvt Ltd, said, “Flight cancellations and delays due to fog prompted many travellers to choose nearby spots they can drive to such as Goa, Ganpatipule, Lonavala and Alibaug.”
Travel firms’ representatives claimed that those who missed out on holidays during the Christmas and New Year’s eve were planning a short vacation in the upcoming long weekend — Jan 26 to 28 (Friday, Saturday and Sunday).
Santosh Gupta, the owner of Shree Vinayak Holidays, told TOI, “Some travellers are leaving on Thursday itself by taking an extra leave from work. Major bookings are for Goa, Amritsar, Thailand and Dubai. We see more people heading out during the Republic Day long wee kend than previous long weekends.”
Syed Zakir Hussaini, treasurer, Travel Agents Association of India (TAAI), said, “We have lots of bookings for Goa and Himachal Pradesh for the long weekend. We had a group tour of 22 people to Maldives, but they cancelled it. They are now heading to Himachal. In comparison to previous long weekends, the Republic Day long weekend is seeing good rush. Many people could not travel during the Christmas and the New Year holidays. This segment is planning to travel around Jan 26.” He said while the hotel room tariff in Goa had been stable, room rates in Himachal Pradesh increased recently following rush after the Maldives-Lakshadweep issue surfaced. Many shelved their Maldives plan and opted for Himachal Pradesh or Kerala, Hussaini said.
Pawan Sachdeva, director, Pacific Travels, said, “There is a huge rush for Ayodhya for the Ram Temple, with hotels and flights to the destination running fully booked. There is also a demand for Bengaluru and Sri Lanka. After people cancelled Maldives, there were a lot of queries for beach destinations in India, such as Kochi in Kerala and Puducherry in TN. Enquiries have also gone up for international destinations with free visas like Sri Lanka, Thailand, Dubai, Vietnam and Cambodia.”
Flight delays push tourists to nearby spots
Sachdeva said the demand for Rajasthan and Gujarat was also picking up due to the Kutch Rann Utsav. Many people were travelling during the Republic Day long weekend because the next long weekend was only in March , he said.
Mehboob Shaikh, chairman, TAAI Pune chapter, and director of Travel Elect India Pvt Ltd, said, “Flight cancellations and delays due to fog prompted many travellers to choose nearby spots they can drive to such as Goa, Ganpatipule, Lonavala and Alibaug.”