NO SPLASH: Hotel prices fall up to 25% at popular getaways like Mahabaleshwar, Matheran
Delayed rains have brought down hotel tariffs at popular monsoon getaways as dejected tourists are either canceling or pushing back their plans to as late as August. Monsoon has been delayed by about two weeks this year.
Hotel industry players, insiders and travel agents said tariffs at popular hill stations, including Lonavala, Mahabaleshwar, Matheran and Igatpuri, have dropped an average 25% for this week as compared to the similar period last year.
As per data collated by online travel portal ixigo, Lonavala-Mahabaleshwar together saw about 35% drop in tariffs against 15% increase last year during the comparable period. Goa recorded a decline of 24% from a spike of 14% last year.
Tourists have also given the thumbs down to Igatpuri, another popular destination in Maharashtra, where booking rates have come down by 5% during the current period in comparison to a 9% rise last year.
“We have seen an average decrease of 21-25% in hotel rates during June for some popular monsoon getaway destinations. Delayed monsoons this year are pushing travellers to postpone their plans to as late as August,” said Aloke Bajpai, CEO & co-founder of ixigo.
After putting up with heat, dust and humidity during the summer, tourists love to visit places with greenery, fog and waterfalls. Accordingly, bookings to hotels and resorts in such monsoon destinations are made in advance.
A manager at Lonavala-based Obetel Grande Resort said, “Normally around this time one can witness a large number of tourists coming to enjoy the rains. But this has not been the case so far as a result of which the tariffs have remained low. We hope that it rains in the next few days and things may change.”
Iqbal Mulla, chief counsel at Global Tourism Council, a Mumbai-based tourism consultancy firm, said tourists tend to cancel or delay their plans if they do not expect rains during their scheduled stay. “The delay or even long dry spell during the monsoon severely impacts the hotel and tourism industry at these monsoon getaways.”
"This year the south-west monsoon hit the Kerala coast on June 8, after a delay of 7 days. Also, Cyclone Vayu restricted monsoon advancement. According to the weather monitoring department, the delayed monsoon has brought the all-India rainfall level to lower than that of normal estimates.
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