TOUGH TIME: higher airfares affect Kerala, HP, Uttarakhand; nearby destinations a hit
"Generally, I have over a thousand tourists going to Kerala every year. This year, however, I have hardly 150. There are enquiries now but railway tickets are not available and airlines have raised fares. So, there are no fresh bookings," said Ajay Modi, director of Ajay Modi Travels Pvt Limited.
Modi is among many tour operators in Ahmedabad who were hoping that bookings will revive as the season draws closer. They have been disappointed. Natural disasters earlier during the year made tourists rule out long-term destinations like Kerala, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, directly affecting bookings and resulting in even cancellations.
Even as things are pretty much clear now, apprehensions persist about these places and bookings are still not happening.
"An airline ticket to Goa was priced at Rs 5,700 about two months ago. Now, it costs Rs 13,000. Who would buy it at this rate?" asks Modi.
Anuj Pathak, secretary of Travel Agents Association of Gujarat (TAG), said that it has never been so bad in his 17 years of career.
Pathak complains of a severe drop in demand for travelling during Diwali vacation this year. "It is not that destinations are sold out. If we search online for booking of rooms, they are available. So it is not that online bookings have exhausted the supply. Bookings for long-term destinations have dropped by about 50 per cent this year," said Pathak.
While Kerala, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand suffered floods, Kashmir is hit by militancy and so not finding many takers this vacation. Modi informed that he used to previously send 1,200 tourists to Kashmir during Diwali. This year, the number is about 200.
Travel operators say the overall economic slowdown has also affected spending power of masses, impacting their vacation plans.
"With lesser money, people are postponing plans. They plan to go next year," said Modi.
Costlier diesel has also increased fares of taxis.
"Fare of Innova has risen from Rs 13-14 per litre to about Rs 18 per litre. This has increased budget of tourists," said Pathak. All these factors have put brakes on spending and clients are instead opting for nearer and short duration destinations like Rajasthan, Goa, Mahabaleshwar and Lonawala.
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