The winter tourist season is likely to see subdued growth this year, with soaring air fares and over-capacity in the hotel industry further impacting the travel segment. India has a traditionally robust travel season between October and January.

Travel industry players expect the overall demand from the domestic travel segment to remain flat this year, owing to a combination of factors that include higher taxes. Though bookings have been more or less steady in the business segment, the response in the leisure travel category has been lukewarm, as per a report in Business Line.

For instance, in Goa, which is a traditionally strong leisure market, there has been a dip in demand. A similar case is with Thailand. Tour operators refer to the hike in air fares as the main culprit. “It is likely to be a dull Diwali for the industry. In fact, air fares are expected to further surge by 10 to 15 per cent by the end of October,” he added.

Tour operators add that long-haul travel bookings have come down by about 40 per cent. Most travellers are sticking to their neighbouring regions for winter vacations, they say. “Rather than planning a Kerala or Goa trip from Delhi, they are heading to Himachal Pradesh or the Rajasthan circuit,” he said.

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