New Delhi, Aug 9 (IANS): Bitten by wanderlust, several Delhi residents have left town for budget as well as luxury vacations with friends and families thanks to the three-day extended weekend.
Friday (Aug 9) is Eid-ul-Fitr followed by Saturday and Sunday.
Witnessing an increase of “over 100 percent” in bookings, Rajesh Magow, chief executive officer of MakeMyTrip said that the most popular destinations were Agra, Amritsar, Jaipur, Goa, Ladakh and the hill states of Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand.
Interestingly, travellers are choosing to holiday in Uttarakhand, which was ravaged by torrential rains and flash floods in June.
“The Uttrakhand floods had a ripple effect on the summer business of many destinations there but the extended weekend is somewhat making up for the loss,” Richa Goyal Sikri, Group Business Development Director, STIC Travel Group, told IANS.
“Delhiites are always up for a holiday and are choosing short haul destinations as these places provide them with an opportunity to unwind and spend time with their loved ones and at the same time not burning a hole in their pocket,” said Sharat Dhall, President, Yatra.com.
According to Vikram Malhi, general manager, south and southeast Asia, Expedia, short haul vacations have become a trend amongst not only Delhiites but other Indians too.
“Indian travelers have been taking more of shorter, frequent holidays instead of one or two long vacations earlier,” said Malhi.
As per Malhi, 23 percent of Indians preferred opting for short duration holidays and the number is constantly rising.
Cashing in on the opportunity, the travel portals are offering discounts to lure more and more travellers.
“We are offering discounts up to 50 percent on hotels in cities like Goa, Jaipur, Udaipur, Munnar and Kovalam,” said Malhi.
MakeMyTrip too is offering special long-weekend product bouquets with great value packages, said Magow.
“A luxury holiday is emerging as a strong trend this year. Queries for luxury properties have risen three-fold from last year,” said Magow.
“Not only do five-star properties offer great deals during the lean monsoon season, but other value-adds such as discounted spa therapy, complimentary transfers and the like make for a really top-notch holiday experience,” he added.
The travellers are a mixed bag of families and groups of friends and newly-married couples on their honeymoon owing to ongoing wedding season while the average holiday budget begins at Rs.5,000-10,000 per person and goes up to Rs.40,000-Rs.60,000 - depending on the destination.