A POSITIVE PHASE

Towards the end of 2020, as the number of cases began to decline, people trapped in their homes for more than nine months began to come out. “But now what mattered most was the hygiene and the crowds in the hotels rather than the free breakfast menu and the location of the property,” said Anil Punjabi, president of the region of East, Federation of Travel Agents of India.
He said people also travel to reduce stress. “Most airlines and hotels were offering big discounts and people were determined to take advantage of them. This is one of the reasons why the Maldives has seen a record number of Indian tourists during this season, ”he added.
From December to March, Goa, Himachal Pradesh, Kashmir, Kerala, Andaman, Northeast and Sikkim were the preferred destinations, as most of these states had lifted travel restrictions. “Just to test the waters, we started small-scale group tours at the end of 2020. It was a huge success. People weren’t comfortable in a group of 60, but they were fine with 15, ”said Veena.
Many hotels and airlines have received around 70-100% of their past business and things have started to improve. Seeing the business from December, Tenzing Chhetri, owner of a three-star establishment in Lachung, North Sikkim, believed things were turning in their favor. “There was a huge demand and we were really happy that the world was back to normal,” he said.
Sameer Pradhan, the manager of a hotel in Shimla, Himachal Pradesh, said during those three months everyone thought the pandemic was over and their usual business was coming back. “There was a shortage of foreign tourists, but the number of Indian guests was sufficient,” he said.

THE SECOND STROKE

This lasted until the end of March 2021, when the second wave hit India. Madhav Oza, Managing Director of Blue Star Travel, said: “We had huge bookings for March, April and May and all of them were canceled. It was total chaos and no one knew how to save the day.
This weak streak is underway, but the industry is hoping the inoculation process will help it recover. “Several states and airlines have stated that anyone vaccinated with the first dose will not need a RTPCR test to travel. In the near future, vaccination will be compulsory for travel. On the other hand, travelers will also be eager to get the vaccine as it will increase their confidence, ”Veena said.

THE PATH TO FOLLOW

Hoteliers and travel agencies are not as worried as they were last year because they have already seen the worst and they know how to overcome it. According to Ajay Bali, managing director of BCD Travel, Mumbai, the number of bookings will increase again soon. “People are frustrated with the current situation and want to travel. Vaccination is the key and by my calculations things should get better from August 2021 and by 2022 there will be solid growth, ”he said, adding that travel for family reunions will be the first booster.
According to Veena, they’ve been trying to promote tourism all year round, not seasons, for some time now. “While we’ve had substantial success in this regard, the lockdown has sped things up. Due to the concept of working from home, people realized that they could travel anywhere, anytime. Also, two wasted summer vacations will force people to travel at other times of the year, ”she said, adding that she believed things would be going pretty well by 2022.“ Until then, we will favor internal travel. We recently opened our office in Mumbai and have over 30 bookings for Leh and Ladakh in July. People are dying to travel. We promote unusual and quirky places for women, young people and newlyweds. Price will also play an important role, ”she added.
According to Ajay, they must work with the pandemic in mind. “The second wave is on and we have started to prepare for the third. I think this will last for a while. Thus, people will avoid group tours and continue to do solo trips, ”he said, adding:“ However, the dependence of tourists on travel agencies will not decrease because the latter will help them find new ways to travel. ”

DIGHA, MANDARMANI ON THE WAY TO AWAKENING

Much of South Bengal’s tourism infrastructure was devastated by Cyclone Yaas, with more than half of the hotels in Digha and Mandarmani severely damaged, as well as the waterfront and other tourist attractions. “They survived massive damage and it will take them at least six months to a year before they can get back on their feet. The pandemic has made matters worse. Personally, I think hoteliers in the area should target Puja to get good deals, ”said Anil Punjabi.