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Despite soaring airfares, Valentine weekend boosts ticket sales

Ishita Vijayan, an employee with an IT company, has all the reason to be happy this February 14. Apart from being it her second marriage anniversary, the date collides with a long weekend giving her a chance to celebrate her anniversary in style at Udaipur.

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Ishita Vijayan, an employee with an IT company, has all the reason to be happy this February 14. Apart from being it her second marriage anniversary, the date collides with a long weekend giving her a chance to celebrate her anniversary in style at Udaipur.

According to online travel operators, there is a spurt in travel bookings visible across with a growing number of people now opting for drivable destinations. While Valentine's Day this year is on a Saturday, those having a holiday on Maha Shivratri on February 17 can club the holidays together making it a four-day long weekend.

Popular destinations in this season include Manali, Udaipur and Nainital for Delhi-based travellers; Alleppey (Alappuzha) for those in the South; Shillong for those heading East, and Mahabaleshwar for Mumbai-based travellers.

What is adding zeal to the travel bugs is the move by domestic airlines' offer of discount schemes during this otherwise lean season.

There are around 10-12 such long weekends this year, say industry experts.

According to a travel industry expert, the last 2-3 years have seen a surge in people taking shorter breaks. "Compared to a regular weekend, a long weekend automatically sees a growth of 15-18% in travel bookings," the expert said.

Neelu Singh, COO, Ezeego1.com, an online site offering escorted tours, said, "This is one of the first long weekends of the year and bookings have been on the rise. There has been a growth in weekend getaways by almost 20%. We have special Valentine weekend deals which are specially designed for couples. Hence, majority of our bookings for that weekend have come in from married or young couples. However, there has also been some increase in bookings from families who have planned vacations coinciding with their children's school holiday."

According to Sharat Dhall, president, Yatra.com, there is a spike in both holiday packages and hotel bookings. "Hotel booking numbers are up by more than three times this year than what we saw last year. Even holiday packages have also doubled. Most of the bookings that we are seeing are in the vicinity of the metros, though Goa remain a popular destination from all metros. And a lot of such bookings also happen in the last minute. As compared to a regular weekend, long weekend bookings are up by 3-4 times."

An extended weekend certainly comes as a welcome boon for all. According to Yatra.com's survey, however, 50% of travellers book packages for the long weekends 30 days in advance, making the most of extended weekends. Self-driven travel features prominently in the survey with 30% people planning to drive down to their chosen destinations for the long weekends, it added.

Singh said, "Over the years, we have seen a trend of advance booking and this year, more than half of the bookings for the Valentine weekend have been advance purchases. People like to book early to avoid last minute disappointment and also because they end up saving a considerable amount of money on airlines and hotel bookings if they book in advance. The bookings started from January onwards, but the enquiries and bookings have almost doubled two weeks prior to the Valentine long weekend."

She further said that bookings for Southeast Asia have also shown an increase as people are making the most of the extended weekend by going on a short haul international trip, Thailand, Dubai and Malaysia being the top favourite destinations. "Today, people have been taking frequent trips that are shorter in duration, mainly to break the monotony and stress of daily life. Going by the pattern year-on-year, we expect a growth of around 30% from such short frequent vacations," she added.

Places that are at a distance of 2-3 hours by road or air are certainly the most preferred. Today each metro city has at least 15-20 destinations that have gained popularity for weekend breaks and have been attracting tourists, Singh further added.

Dhall, on the other hand, said that while most people opt for international destinations when they are planning a longer holiday, close drivable domestic destinations around the metros are otherwise the preferred choices.
"Outbound destinations like Thailand and Dubai are popular even with such long weekends. But a lot of people these days prefer drivable destinations. However, with domestic airlines offering several discounts, people booking holidays in advance are also taking advantage of such sales. Those last-minute travellers usually prefer drivable options since hotel rates does not change closer to the date as much as airfares. The only risk is closer to the dates the preferred destinations may get sold out," he added.

According to Ranjeet Oak, head – holidays, MakeMyTrip, Valentine's Day bookings are mostly last minute and the industry expects to witness a surge in bookings closer to the date. "A Valentine getaway can cost a couple anything from Rs 3,000 to Rs 4,000 per person, depending on choice of accommodation, travel mode, package inclusions and duration of stay," Oak said.

Karan Anand, head – relationships, Cox & Kings, said, "Valentine weekend packages are popular across age groups and we have seen good growth in holidays to Seychelles, Mauritius and also to royal palaces across Rajasthan."

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