In bits and spurts, on long weekends and special occasions, leisure travel is coming back following a decline in daily Covid cases in the country and in key states.
For instance, the weekend preceding February 14 saw an encouraging week-on-week growth in bookings, industry insiders said.
Anil Chadha, divisional chief executive at ITC Hotels said Welcomhotel Shimla, Welcomhotel Chail, Welcomhotel Mussoorie , Welcomhotel Pahalgam have been receiving lots of tourists who sought short or long breaks or even a ‘Valentine vacation.’ ITC Grand Bharat, ITC Grand Goa, ITC Rajputana and ITC Mughal are also seeing good footfalls, he said.
“The sentiment this week is positive which is indeed good for the industry. Clearly, the demand for hyperlocal and enriching experiences is on the rise. Travellers from different cities in India who are at motorable distances are checking in as they wish to take a break away from their homes to a new location,” he added.