Upcoming long weekend to see surge in travel: Report

Bookings for itineraries ranging from jungle safaris to hill stations and beaches have been coming in faster than ever on online travel platforms, hotel chains and travel service providers as restrictions following the catastrophic second Covid wave ease further across states following vaccinations and lower case count, The Economic Times reported. They also expect a bumper travel this Dussehra, in what could probably be the biggest spike in short travel on weekend.

Bookings increase over 50% for weekend

According to MakeMyTrip, advance bookings for the festive season have touched 75% of pre-Covid levels. It also added that it sees a strong demand for hotels and homestays, in the upcoming weekend as many are opting for a queek getaway to the hills or to the beaches of Goa and Pondicherry.

EaseMyTrip on the other hand said that its platform has seen an increase of over 50% in advance bookings for the long weekend. Destinations like Kashmir, Leh and Rajasthan are considered as favourites when it comes to the long weekends, it said and added that domestic fares have also increased by 50% as a result.

Thomas Cook India is also seeing an demand increase of five times as compared to the same period last year. It also said that there has been a brisk demand for destinations like Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarkhand, Leh, Ladakh, Goa and Andamans. The resurgence for air inclusive holidays has been strong, it added.

Similarly, ixigo said that its platform has observed bookings for both travellers heading home and those planning a leisure getaway for the upcoming weekend.

New Delhi to Bishekh, Mumbai to Dubai, and New Delhi to Male are the top booked international flight routes on the platform for dussehra. While the top booked domestic flights were for Bengaluru to New Delhi, Mumbai to New Delhi, Bengaluru to Bhubaneswar, New Delhi to Leh and New Delhi to Goa routes, it added.