Travel, hospitality players see surge in summer travel

Travel platforms, airlines and hotel chains are reporting strong summer demand in spite of high airfares on both domestic and international routes and steep hotel rates, with bookings being at par with pre-pandemic levels, if not more.

"Domestic flights and hotel bookings are faring well with an uptick of 20%-25% in the domestic travel segment compared to pre-Covid levels," said Sabina Chopra, head of industry relations at Yatra.com.

This despite a spike in airfares and hotel rates. Saujanya Shrivastava, chief operating officer of flights, holidays and Gulf Cooperation Council at MakeMyTrip, said average domestic airfares in April-May have increased by 7.5% compared to the January-March quarter, while international airfares have increased by 2% during the same period.

"The sentiment for travel continues to be high, reflecting in the DGCA (director general of civil aviation) data," he said. "The domestic aviation industry saw a 19% increase in the number of individuals flying in April and May this year compared to last year. On the international front, the growth is much higher at 43%."

Aloke Bajpai, group CEO of travel booking portal ixigo, said demand for both domestic and international summer travel is at par with pre-pandemic levels this year with an increase in bulk bookings for travel in May and June. "Despite high airfares, Indian families are willing to spend more," he said. "Goa has seen an over 150% year-on-year increase in bookings in May despite it being an off-season for the destination," Bajpai added.

Indiver Rastogi, president and group head of global business travel at Thomas Cook (India) and SOTC Travel, said despite higher air pricing, customers are not compromising on their planned holiday and the company's data indicates a demand uptick of 3x this summer.

Hotel rates too are on the higher side amid good demand.

An ITC Hotels spokesperson said hill stations are seeing a "huge" summer rush, with Welcomhotel and Storii properties in Shimla, Katra, Mussoorie, Chail, Dharamshala, Goa and Manali receiving a lot of interest. Akhil Arora, CEO of Espire Hospitality Group, said the chain's resorts in Bhimtal, Jim Corbett, Chail and Mussoorie are witnessing more than 85% occupancy for May and June while rates are about 15% higher than the last year.