In past 3 months, Feb registers highest number of travellers in India: Report
According to the report, bookings surged in Goa for both February 15 and February 22 by over 20%.
By Neha LM Tripathi
India witnessed 24,700 check-ins in February, the highest during the third week of February, suggests a report by RateGain - a leading provider of software as a services (SaaS) product that helps travel and hospitality companies with revenue management and brand engagement.
As per the report, the current week of February is seeing higher check-ins than Christmas when India’s Covid-19 recovery crossed 116 per cent. In contrast, December and January recorded 21,363 and 19,029 check-ins respectively.
According to the report, bookings surged in Goa for both February 15 and February 22 by over 20 per cent after witnessing a dip in January. The cities that saw a spike in travellers due to Valentine’s day and wedding season included Jaipur, Shimla, Mumbai, Pondicherry, Ludhiana, Chandigarh, and Delhi. However, Udaipur saw the highest amount of engagement in India on Facebook.
Also read: Maharashtra records over 8,000 fresh Covid-19 cases again, 1,035 cases in Mumbai
The report states that Indians of all age groups have begun moving out of cities, filling flights to almost 100 per cent capacity across domestic destinations as international travel was mostly restricted to the UAE.
India’s recovery was above 100 per cent for almost the whole of December. It was observed that Indians had made last-minute bookings mostly to travel during the end of December and the first week of January. Popular destinations included Goa, Shimla, and Jammu for the first month of 2021.
“In the new normal, the Indian millennial traveller would play a critical role in the recovery of the region and therefore this recovery is not only encouraging the domestic hotel industry but also neighbouring Asian markets that rely on China and India to drive their tourism markets," Kamesh Shukla, executive vice president (EVP) and head of Asia Pacific Middle East Africa (APMEA), RateGain, said.
“Inspired by travel taken by their family and friends, travellers continue to visit tourist destinations such as Goa, Shimla, and Jammu two weeks after the new year emphasising the role of social media in the recovery of the industry,” he added.
Highlighting the top social media trends, the report stated that hotels in the Maldives were ten times more engaged on social media in the last quarter of 2020 after it opened its corridor with India.
“Indian hotels saw their highest surge in engagement during November due to a surge experienced by hotels in Mumbai, as they received their guests during the long Diwali weekend for staycations. Hotels in Mumbai drove the most engagement on Facebook and Instagram, almost 150 per cent higher than the average engagement received by hotels in other cities. The Bangalore industry witnessed the least engagement from Indian travellers. Goa, which was the most-booked destination in December and witnessed the most check-ins in December and January, saw three times higher engagement during November on Facebook,” the report mentioned.
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