Uncertainties over airfares — whether they will come down in December or not — have failed to spoil the holiday mood among travellers.
Travel companies say that though the global financial crisis has affected their international bookings, it has not impacted their domestic bookings and it has actually gone up.
Online travel portal, Makemytrip, has registered an increase of 14-18 per cent in domestic transactions in recent months compared to last year. “We have not seen any drop in the overall volume. In fact, our domestic transactions have gone up 14-18 per cent from last year,” K N Anand, vice president (outbound tourism), makemytrip told Financial Chronicle.
Jet fuel prices have come down by about 45 per cent since August, raising hopes for a significant reduction in airfares. The airlines, however, are yet to take a call. Travel agents say uncertain fares are not a worry factor because December is peak month for holidays.
“Our advance bookings for December remain same as last year. Though, the number fell 15 per cent in the second quarter, it picked up by 8-9 per cent in October due to Diwali. We have not seen a drop after that,” Noel Swain, vice president (marketing) of Cleartrip said.
Travel agents say it’s the nature of travel that has changed with the crisis. “December is one of the peak months for travel. The only change for this season is in the nature of travel. For instance, if a family was travelling to Bangkok, they might go to Goa or Shimla now. They have minimised their itineraries and are travelling for a short period in comparison to longer vacations they were planning earlier,” said Richa Goyal Sikri, director, (group business development), Stic Travel.
For Cox and Kings also, the growth story remains same. “People who want to go for December holidays won’t wait for the fares to fall because even if the fares come down, they may lose on high prices of last minute bookings. The availability of tickets is also an issue,” said a spokesperson of Cox and Kings, which has been witnessing a 25 per cent growth in its bookings.