Despite slowdown in the economy, the hospitality industry in India is reporting a significant revival in occupancy rates and the tourism trade is expecting over 20 lakhs tourists to make voyage to renowned tourist destinations of North India, followed by South for Christmas & New Year celebrations, reveals the ASSOCHAM latest survey.

The preferred destinations include - Shimla, Kinnaur, Lahaul and districts of Spiti, Chamba, Kangra, Mandi Nainital, Kullu, Manali, Massourie, Dalhousie, Kufri, Kashmir valley in winters with snowfall being the main attraction. Rajasthan, as always, will remain a favourite and places like Udaipur, Jaipur, Jodhpur, Bikaner etc will see a mix of domestic and foreign tourists. Besides, the top destinations in south would include Ooty, Mysore, Pondicherry, Rameshwaram and Goa, Mahabaleshwar in west, according to just concluded survey conducted by the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM).

ASSOCHAM carried out the survey in ten major cities like Delhi-NCR, Mumbai, Bangalore, Chennai, Kolkata, Jaipur, Chandigarh, Lucknow, Thiruvanathpuram and Ahemdabad and interacted with as many as 4,500 people included frequent travellers, professionals, travel trade and the agents booking foreign tourists.

According to the estimates made by the ASSOCHAM based on feedback received from various tour operators, bookings for Christmas and New Year eve's celebrations have already begun.

Of the 4,500 participants 68 per cent preferred to visit parts of northern India to enjoy their New Year festivities as the region is likely to witness mild snowfall on the New Year's Eve 2014. On the other hand, almost 28 per cent potential travellers preferred to
visit coastal regions of Goa, Pudducherry, Kerala, Thiruvananthpuram, Rameshwaram etc and about 10 per cent desired to visit areas like Ooty, Mahabaleshwar, highlights the survey.

The travel trade is showing signs of revival as are witnessed by improvement in bookings. Expressing their views, the hoteliers in the region said that they are witnessing improved bookings both from domestic and overseas travelers, adds the survey.

Releasing the findings of ASSOCHAM survey, Chamber's SecretaryGeneral, Mr. D.S. Rawat said, "there is steady increase in hotel occupancy mostly in North India and other traditional tourist destinations. Festive season and pick up in economy should be given
credit for improvement in hotel occupancy and the hotels are cashing in on buoyant festive".

He further said, resort regions of Goa, Pondicherry, world-famous backwaters of Kerala and other coastal areas, apart from hilly states of Uttrakhand, Himachal Pradesh would see the tourist rush with tour operators offering top-up freebies etc.

The impact is already being seen by way 35-40% increase in tariffs for hotel accommodations as food & beverage costs are also running up by nearly 30-35%, from the bottom witnessed last year.

The survey further point out, the tourist movement would start from the second half of December, mostly for the domestic tourists while foreign travellers would be seen increasing from the end of November itself.

During last Christmas, Goa happened to be highly congested tourist spot because it provided competitive tariffs. This year, the trend is more towards tourist spots that are comparatively cheaper as tariffs for hotels accommodation have jumped up by nearly 35-40% with food and beverages cost also going up by nearly 20-25% in larger towns and metros.

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