Most of the top hotels in the popular resort towns of Himachal Pradesh are already fully booked by holiday makers for Christmas this year due to extended holidays this weekend.
"The high-end hotels are offering Christmas and New Year packages and many of them are already sold out," said a leading travel agent Nitin Chauhan.
While five-star hotels are offering Rs 50,000 packages for three nights, the budget hotels are offering Rs 6,000 packages for couples.
"There will always be scope for walk-in customers as some hotels do not accept advance bookings, particularly the budget hotels," Chauhan told Business Standard.
"More holiday makers might visit the state for Christmas instead of New year as the latter falls on a Thursday this time," he said.
Bulk of the tourists will visit Shimla and Manali as they have most of the hotels in the state.
The Shimla police is opening up parking lots in the prohibited and restricted roads due to the heavy traffic volume for Christmas and New Years. Those looking for quieter environs are headed for Kasauli, Barog, Chail, Kufri, Kullu, Dharamsala and Dalhousie.
SOURCE:
Business Standard
Date - 22 December 2009
Edition - New Delhi and Shimla
Showing posts with label Christmas. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Christmas. Show all posts
Thursday, December 24, 2009
Saturday, December 12, 2009
Travel Industry sees Spurt in Traffic during Christmas, New Year
What are your plans for Christmas and New Year this year? Will you be joining the growing number of people who ate taking advantage of the fact that the prices of travel packages for international destinations are either lower or at the same level as last year? Or that a number of new destinations are being promoted for Christmas and New Year, both of which incidentally fall on weekends?
According to Mr J.B. Singh, the President and Chief Executive Officer, Galileo India, there is likely to be a "spurt of 6-8 per cent" in traffic in December this year over the previous year. Industry analysts estimate that there has been a 10-15 per cent increase in the number of people seeking international holiday packages during this year's Christmas and New Year Breaks.
"Outbound is seeing a big change with people going beyond traditional choices like Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur to more exotic locations including Hua Hin in Thailand, Vietnam, Bhutan and Cambodia," Mr Singh adds.
Another package, in the premium luxury range, that seems to be catching the fancy of the Indian market is winter cruises in the Antarctica and South America, Director - Group Business Development, STIC Travel Group, Ms Richa Goyal Sikri, says. Adds the Chief Operating Officer, Ezeego1.com, Ms Neelu Singh, "Apart from traditional tourist destinations like Dubai, Colombo and Malaysia, Cyprus is catching the interest of the Indian traveller." And then there are also the usual destinations with a few more attractions thrown in says Ms Sikri, "There are some really attractive holiday packages available to places like Hong Kong. Now a person can spend two nights and three days in Hong Kong with a tour to Disneyland for Rs 24,000." Analysts also point out that this spurt in traffic could be because of families that have not taken breaks during the year are now taking advantage of Christmas and New Year Vacations falling on weekends.
Besides, according to the Chief Operating Officer, Outbound Division Kuoni India, Ms Kashmira Commissariat, families going on holidays over long weekends is becoming a trend amongst Indians.
Source:
The Hindu Business Line
December 2009
Edition - New Delhi
According to Mr J.B. Singh, the President and Chief Executive Officer, Galileo India, there is likely to be a "spurt of 6-8 per cent" in traffic in December this year over the previous year. Industry analysts estimate that there has been a 10-15 per cent increase in the number of people seeking international holiday packages during this year's Christmas and New Year Breaks.
"Outbound is seeing a big change with people going beyond traditional choices like Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur to more exotic locations including Hua Hin in Thailand, Vietnam, Bhutan and Cambodia," Mr Singh adds.
Another package, in the premium luxury range, that seems to be catching the fancy of the Indian market is winter cruises in the Antarctica and South America, Director - Group Business Development, STIC Travel Group, Ms Richa Goyal Sikri, says. Adds the Chief Operating Officer, Ezeego1.com, Ms Neelu Singh, "Apart from traditional tourist destinations like Dubai, Colombo and Malaysia, Cyprus is catching the interest of the Indian traveller." And then there are also the usual destinations with a few more attractions thrown in says Ms Sikri, "There are some really attractive holiday packages available to places like Hong Kong. Now a person can spend two nights and three days in Hong Kong with a tour to Disneyland for Rs 24,000." Analysts also point out that this spurt in traffic could be because of families that have not taken breaks during the year are now taking advantage of Christmas and New Year Vacations falling on weekends.
Besides, according to the Chief Operating Officer, Outbound Division Kuoni India, Ms Kashmira Commissariat, families going on holidays over long weekends is becoming a trend amongst Indians.
Source:
The Hindu Business Line
December 2009
Edition - New Delhi
Friday, December 4, 2009
Dubai Tourism to feel crisis pinch post Festive Season
The impact of the Dubai crisis is expected to cast its spell on tourism fraternity not before January 2010 with airfares and hotel room rates expecting to fall by 10%-15%. However, no significant impact of the crisis will be felt till December since holiday makers have already booked their air travel and hotel accommodation.
Said Rajinder Rai, president, Travel Agents Association of India (TAAI), "Bookings for the Christmas and New Year Holiday Packages are isolated from the crisis since they were done well in advance (in October). The real impact of the crisis will be felt only by January when we expect prices to drop, making Dubai 20% cheaper than what it is today. Till then, we do not see any significant impact on the leisure and business travel or our business."
The average cost of a holiday in Dubai with airfare for two people works out to around Rs 35,000 for three nights/four days.
Neelu Singh, chief operating officer, Ezeego1.com, said, "With more than 100 flights from at least 10 destinations in India, per week, Dubai seems to be a very attractive place for shoppers, and it is a great weekend getaway. Further, the hotel rates in Dubai have come down as they are receiving fewer tourists from their other source markets. This has helped Indian travellers, as they are now getting attractive deals." She added, "Dubai has shown strong growth in terms of tourist traffic and the tourism industry is growing at a rapid pace. We feel that in the next one year, the meeting, incentive, conference and exhibition (MICE) business in Dubai will grow by at least 25%."
An email sent to the department of tourism and commerce marketing (DTCM) in Mumbai went unanswered.
However, SP Jain, chairman, Pride Hotels, and president, Hotel and Restaurant Association of Western India, said, "There will not be any significant rise in outbound traffic to Dubai due to the expected price crash. Indians, at present, see Dubai more as a business destination other than a tourist spot."
Around 4,93,318 Indian travelers visited Dubai in 2008 as compared to 410,821 in 2007, a growth of 20%. According to DTCM figures, there was an increase of 8.3% in the number of hotel guests in 2008 to Dubai compared with the previous year. The guest nights rose by 9.2% in 2008 to touch 22,421,067. However, the average length of stay went down to 2.98 compared with 7.3 in 2007. The total revenues rose 15.1% with the hotel establishments reporting revenues of AED15,268,545.
Similarly, the number of hotel establishment rooms increased by 17.9% to reach 50,457 in 2008.
SOURCE:
The Financial Express
Date - 4 December 2009
Edition - New Delhi
Said Rajinder Rai, president, Travel Agents Association of India (TAAI), "Bookings for the Christmas and New Year Holiday Packages are isolated from the crisis since they were done well in advance (in October). The real impact of the crisis will be felt only by January when we expect prices to drop, making Dubai 20% cheaper than what it is today. Till then, we do not see any significant impact on the leisure and business travel or our business."
The average cost of a holiday in Dubai with airfare for two people works out to around Rs 35,000 for three nights/four days.
Neelu Singh, chief operating officer, Ezeego1.com, said, "With more than 100 flights from at least 10 destinations in India, per week, Dubai seems to be a very attractive place for shoppers, and it is a great weekend getaway. Further, the hotel rates in Dubai have come down as they are receiving fewer tourists from their other source markets. This has helped Indian travellers, as they are now getting attractive deals." She added, "Dubai has shown strong growth in terms of tourist traffic and the tourism industry is growing at a rapid pace. We feel that in the next one year, the meeting, incentive, conference and exhibition (MICE) business in Dubai will grow by at least 25%."
An email sent to the department of tourism and commerce marketing (DTCM) in Mumbai went unanswered.
However, SP Jain, chairman, Pride Hotels, and president, Hotel and Restaurant Association of Western India, said, "There will not be any significant rise in outbound traffic to Dubai due to the expected price crash. Indians, at present, see Dubai more as a business destination other than a tourist spot."
Around 4,93,318 Indian travelers visited Dubai in 2008 as compared to 410,821 in 2007, a growth of 20%. According to DTCM figures, there was an increase of 8.3% in the number of hotel guests in 2008 to Dubai compared with the previous year. The guest nights rose by 9.2% in 2008 to touch 22,421,067. However, the average length of stay went down to 2.98 compared with 7.3 in 2007. The total revenues rose 15.1% with the hotel establishments reporting revenues of AED15,268,545.
Similarly, the number of hotel establishment rooms increased by 17.9% to reach 50,457 in 2008.
SOURCE:
The Financial Express
Date - 4 December 2009
Edition - New Delhi
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)