Summer is fast approaching and that means the vacations are around the corner. But with the pandemic playing villain for what is unarguably the longest peak vacation period for Indians for two years in a row, all hopes are pinned on 2022 for the return of the big summer holiday. Tour operators say the signs are promising as the tourism sector is already seeing a revival after the third wave.
“There was a brief gap in January due to the third wave of infections. But people have started planning for the April-May summer vacations. Most people are looking at domestic tourism, mainly Himalayan destinations such as Kashmir, Arunachal Pradesh, etc,” said Aravind Kumar, managing partner, Crimson Holidays. He added that a few “bravehearts” are looking at international destinations such as Europe. “Thailand is open, but connectivity is a problem from Bengaluru right now. In fact, demand is only there for Sri Lanka, Maldives and Dubai due to connectivity,” he added.
The present trend, he said, is of premium resorts selling at premium prices because people are not travelling abroad. “Tour operators will see full recovery only after international flights begin fully. Also, COVID-19 tests on return are turning out to be a deterrent as there are allegations of false positives. If one is tested as positive before heading to a destination, they can postpone the trip as hotels and airlines are willing to be flexible. But to take a test before departing from that country and then test positive is a problem as the expenditure goes up,” he explained.
But for summer vacations, people are waiting till the last minute to make the booking because many have had a bad experience during the first wave, when the pandemic was new and neither businesses nor people knew how to deal with the situation. It took over a year for them to get refunds. “Many are not waiting for summer either. With work from home and online classes still on, people are doing the same from tourist destinations,” Mr. Aravind added.
Nagesh Babu R.S. from World Trails Private Ltd., said enquiries have started but with international destinations not opened except Dubai and Maldives, and all flights not operational, domestic destinations are seeing good demand. He, too, noted that Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh are popular destinations because of winter tourism. “Hotels are booked till April for some of these destinations. Flights are also expensive because of high demand. Tourism to Andaman has also restarted. Around Bengaluru and popular destinations like Kodagu, there is 80% occupancy,” he added.
By March - April, tourism will be back to the levels that were seen in the October to December 2021 period before the Omicron variant struck, said M. Ravi, founder member of Karnataka Tourism Society. “The requirement for RT-PCR for people from Goa, Maharashtra and Kerala is deterring tourists from coming to Karnataka. January saw a lot of changes in rules, but we are seeing some recovery. In March-April, it will be back to normal – to what it was in October, November, December,” said Mr. Ravi.
He expressed hope that corporate travel will also start to pick up as conferences, off-site meetings, team building meetings, etc, account for a huge part of the business. “For revival of the sector, RT-PCR requirement needs to be done away with, and some tax benefits need to be given,” he said.
