Advance booking! 60%-70% hotel rooms booked for the summer vacations

Kochi: After two years, Kochi hotels and resorts are seeing an uptick in advance booking for the summer vacations. Almost 60%-70% rooms have been booked in the hotels for May.

Meanwhile, Kochiites too are also not sitting at home, with a majority opting for destinations like Kashmir or Himachal Pradesh for a cool summer holiday.

The number of international tourists visiting the city for leisure or medical treatment remains low, with domestic tourists accounting for most of the hotel bookings. The good news for the tourism industry is that the demand is so high that the hotels are no longer offering discounts and are now charging pre-Covid times’ room rent.

“Slowly but steadily, things are looking up for the hotel and tourism industry. There are lots of business meetings and tourists are keen to come to Kerala for leisure holidays. The advance bookings are really good for May, and we expect more tourist arrivals as the number of flights to Kochi has increased,” Riaz Ahmed, president, Association of Approved and Classified Hotels of Kerala (AACHK).

He further said now many tourists prefer to book directly with the hotel and this works to the hotel’s benefit.
“We save money as we don’t have to pay commission. Also, the majority of people prefer weekends and due to high demand, some of the resorts have increased room rent for the weekends,” added Riaz.

Though the tourism sector opened up in February 2022 in Kerala, with the state reporting high Covid numbers, tourist movement continued to remain low. The once flourishing tourism industry faced a major setback after the floods of 2018 in Kerala, when the number of tourists – domestic and international-–plunging. Business picked up in 2019, but then by 2020, due to Covid, the travel and tourism industry were shut down for more close to two years.
Meanwhile, Kochiites are also keen to take a holiday and travel with friends or family. “Travel for leisure is again back in demand. People are tired of sitting at home for the last two years and now want to travel. Senior citizens are the most keen among them, and most prefer destination like Kashmir or Himachal Pradesh,” said Rashmi Murali, managing partner at Yathri Travels.

“Tourism has revived with a lot of people showing interest to travel, both within India and abroad. People are looking at destinations that are cheaper and have good air connectivity. While a majority are travelling for leisure, there are many visiting families and friends. Many hotels are now working in full capacity. Hope the golden days of tourism are coming back,” said Praveen Shetty of New Prime India Cochin Tours and Travels.

News Source: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kochi/60-70-hotel-rooms-booked-in-advance-for-summer-vacation/articleshow/90673786.cms