March 18 2016, 17.53 PM IST || Pocket News Alert
Chandigarh, March 18th , 2016: A quick short break / weekend getaway on account of Holi or Good Friday can be just enough to tick one of your awaited bucket-list experiences. Indian travellers are gearing up for the upcoming long weekends with destinations such as Sri Lanka, Thailand and Singapore being the top favourites this season.
Closer home, drive down destinations are increasingly popluar– from scenic hill stations and Konkan belt of Maharashtra such as Devgad, Velas, Vengurl ,Harishchandragad Fort, Panhala , Kolad in Maharashtra to Northern beauty of Uttarakhand, from classic sights of Dehradun to holy pilgrims of Rishikesh, Indian travellers are planning their long weekends with zest and enthusiasm. In fact, as per the internal research team of Thomas Cook India, with average advance booking of one month to a week prior, web portal thomascook.in has seen growth of a whooping 45% this year, compared to 2015 with departures for Thailand, Singapore, Dubai and Malaysia being sold out!
Super peak pricing seems to have had scant impact on the Indian traveller’s spirit and our teams are reporting an overall jump in hotel bookings by 40%. Hotel prices have gone up by almost 60 - 70% for Coorg/Mysore and almost 100% for destinations like Lonavala/ Mahabaleshwar.
Speaking about the long weekend tradition Mr. Rajeev Kale, President & COO – Leisure Travel (Outbound, MICE, Domestic & Sports Holidays), Thomas Cook (India) Ltd. said, “Indian travellers are opening up to intellectually and educationally enriching getaways along with traditional sightseeing vacations. While they are clearly pushing the envelope to go beyond ‘vanilla’ holidays, traditional tick-box see-all-you-can package remains favourite for many even today. They like to plan their outings with family and children where place doesn’t matter as long as it is a mini vacation.”
