OTAs report 20-25% month on month jump in holiday bookings ahead of new year | Economic Times

NEW DELHI: Leading online travel agencies said they were witnessing a 20-25% month-on-month jump in holiday bookings in December, as customers look at striking off a holiday from their bucket list ahead of the New Year.Goa, Mahabaleshwar, Pondicherry, Coorg, Shimla and Manali are the top picks within India, while Dubai and the Maldives continue to be the most popular international getaways for the year.MakeMyTrip chief operating officer Vipul Prakash said bookings on the platform indicated 25% month-on-month growth in flight bookings to domestic leisure destinations."We hope to see this traction growing during the Christmas and New Year period. In outbound travel, Dubai and the Maldives continue to remain the most searched destinations and they will continue to rank high on the consideration set of travellers in the coming weeks as well," he added.On Yatra.com, the preferred destinations are Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh to celebrate white Christmas, or Goa, Udaipur and Ooty among others for the New Year’s Eve, cofounder Sabina Chopra said."We have seen a surge in enquiries for options such as homestays, cottages, and premium and luxury hotel properties. Bookings have picked up for the holiday season as more people come out of the isolation of their homes," she added.Nishant Pitti, co-founder at EaseMyTrip, said demand for holiday packages had increased 25% compared to October. “Growth in November compared to October was very marginal at just 3-4%," he added.Cleartrip said holiday bookings on the platform were witnessing similar levels as Diwali this year and at around 40%-50% of the pre-pandemic levels.“Customers are booking closer to the travel date this year, and we expect this trend to continue over the next two weeks. Substantial pent-up demand, easing of travel restrictions, and year-end holidays have contributed to this,” a Cleartrip spokesperson said.“Delhi-Goa, Mumbai-Goa and Bengaluru-Goa are the top three domestic routes for travel between December 21 and January 3, while routes from Mumbai, Bengaluru and Delhi to Male and Dubai dominate the top international routes,” the spokesperson added.Airfares for a majority of domestic destinations have decreased this year, making flying an attractive option for most travellers, ixigo cofounder Rajnish Kumar said. “Airfares for year-end travel have seen a 15-20% decrease this year as compared to the same time last year across popular routes,” he added.Keeping pandemic-induced uncertainties in mind, online travel companies have also rolled out offers.Ixigo is currently running a year-end sale of Rs 2,000 off on all flight bookings made till the end of December. Its flight feature 'ixigo assured' guarantees a full refund of up to Rs 5,000 on any domestic flight booking cancellation.Cleartrip said its ‘Flexifly’ offer would allow customers to change their flight to a different airline for the same sector without bearing amendment charges or a convenience fee. MakeMyTrip’s Goibibo has launched a ‘Price Lock’ feature to help customers lock flight fares up to seven days while they firm up their travel plans.