It’s that time of the year when families have just come back from a vacation or are planning a mini-break. This time around though, following demonetisation, tour bookings have seen a dip, say travel agents.
“Bookings have not yet completely picked up. Enquiries are coming in from honeymooning couples and corporate travel will pick up from February, but there is a 30 to 40 per cent dip compared to last year. November to January is our peak season as families and couples book for Christmas, New Year and weekends away and this was hit,” said Pawan Gupta, managing director, PK Holidays.
Priya Menon, owner, Aaditya Tours and Travels, said that bookings were still not yet full-fledged. “We have seen a 10 per cent drop from last year,” she said.
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“We had some cancellations after demonetisation and there has been approximately a 25 per cent drop in business compared to last year,” said Venkatraman Suresh, senior manager, Akshaya India Tours and Travels. Things were picking up slowly, he said.
Since international travel packages are often booked a month or month and a half in advance, fewer travellers are going abroad, said Tushar Jain, managing partner, Roundtrip.in. “From November 10 to December 10, travel was severely hit, but since then, it has been improving,” he said.
Some travellers who may have gone abroad are looking at domestic options, said Tejas Gupta, director, Travel Air Madras. “People who had decided to go are continuing to do so, but new queries have reduced,” he said.
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Currency exchange restrictions had impacted inbound tourism, agents said.
In November, UK, Canada and Australia had updated their travel advisories to citizens warning them not to accept notes taken out of circulation and to expect long lines at banks and ATMs. The Canadian website, updated on December 7, states, “If you plan to travel to India, do not depend on cash as the sole method of payment.” The Australian government’s website cautioned similarly, while the U.K. advisory, updated on December 31, advised travellers to use debit or credit cards.