Travel firms feel it may not be a cold, lonely summer | Economic Times

A surge in Covid-19 infections in key states and ensuing restrictions have led to a drop in demand for new travel bookings.Travel and hospitality companies are hoping this is a temporary blip and that a wider vaccination rollout from April will lead to “cautious optimism” and the resurgence of travel.“It’s a sad situation. In many districts and states, there are different types of curbs,” said Pradeep Shetty, joint honorary secretary of the Federation of Hotel & Restaurant Associations of India. “Our association members are seeing a lot of cancellations. Social gatherings are also being cancelled.”According to Rajiv Subramanian, vice president at Cleartrip, the recent travel restrictions in states have led to a 20-25% drop in demand, although he expects an improvement in the summer.“The recovery trajectory has just shifted out slightly. There is reasonable scope for a decent volume in summer if this phase of uncertainty is not too stretched, especially with the vaccinations opening up for a more extensive base from April 1,” he said. 81717816Demand from customers going to their hometowns for Holi was largely intact, he said, with destinations like Patna and Varanasi appearing in the top sectors, while Goa was the preferred leisure destination.Maharashtra, Kerala and Punjab account for 74% of the 421,066 active Covid-19 cases in the country, the health ministry said on Friday.The cofounder of an online travel company said there was a 10-12% drop in new bookings because of the rising number of Covid-19 cases and new curbs in some states.Sensing the need for flexible and possibly last-minute travel, Thomas Cook and SOTC have launched offers such as a full holiday at half the price and a buy-one-get-one-free companion holiday in association with Go Air. The offers include free cancellation and are valid on bookings made until April 9 for travel before September 30.Rajeev Kale, country head for leisure travel and MICE at Thomas Cook India, said customers are willing to adhere to health and safety protocols at their travel destinations and are increasingly seeking non-standard, eclectic elements including accommodation in a villa, a heritage haveli or a plantation bungalow amid tea and coffee estates.Travel portal Skyscanner is counting on people to “look into the future” and is offering flight deals for late 2021 to destinations such as Mumbai, Male and Zurich.“Bag a low-cost flight now so you can travel again when the time’s right... you deserve something to look forward to. Dream now, travel later,” reads a promotion from the portal.Some executives said while new bookings were getting hit, those who had already made their bookings were mostly sticking to their plans and some properties in destinations such as Goa are expected to clock 100% occupancy during the long Holi weekend.Kavinder Singh, MD of Mahindra Holidays & Resorts India, said there were no cancellations for resorts in Goa, Lonavala, Mahabaleshwar, Corbett and Mussoorie for the long weekend.“I think despite restrictions, there would be a surge in travel because of the rate at which the vaccination drive is moving. Guests are better prepared this time. It’s not going to be the kind of situation we went through last year,” he said.According to RateGain, a SaaS company in the travel and hospitality sector, hotel bookings in Mumbai, Jaipur, the National Capital Region, Lucknow, Amritsar and Puducherry had declined this week from the previous week.Shweta Singhal, head of marketing and new business initiatives at Yatra.com, said travellers are enquiring about sanitisation facilities at the accommodation options.“Each touchpoint of travel is aligned with government guidelines and restrictions to take all necessary precautionary measures,” she added.