Summer holidays, peak time tariffs due to the longest, highest demand for school and college students and their families. But last year, the end of March marked the beginning of a lifestyle for many people – the house was locked on its way home.
Big travel plans are still a mile away, but domestic tourism certainly started picking up more slowly as the lockdown norms were lowered. Now, a second wave of infection threatens yet another summer vacation period.
M., Joint Secretary, Karnataka Tourism Society. According to Ravi, hotel bookings have dropped by more than 50%. “Tourist transport has also been badly hit. If this continues, travel, tourism and hospitality will be in jeopardy. One reason for this is the lack of caution and uniformity of protocols in various states. “They have to remove the requirement of RT-PCR for some states or make it mandatory for all. Each state has its own rules.
Sanjar Imam, president of the Karnataka Tourism Forum, acknowledged that the recent upsurge in COVID-19 cases is a concern. “Many people have planned the trip, but we have not yet canceled the trip in the summer,” he said.
Representatives of the sector from popular sites in Karnataka expressed similar views. Coorghomestays.com general manager Jimmy Chengappa said the inquiry had narrowed. “In Kodagu, 90% of the traffic is usually from Bengaluru, which is still coming. But during peak season during April-May, we also get tourists from Delhi, Mumbai, etc. Now tourists from Maharashtra are not coming. COVID-19 rule, “he said.
Saying that the market recovered after the lockdown, he said that some homestays were doing very well. “But like last time, if there is a ban on tourism by the district administration or if there is a lockout-like situation in Bengaluru, it would be detrimental to another extreme weather,” he said.
Gurudev. As of last Sunday, there were a good number of inquiries, said SH, founder of Chikkamagalurustays.in and Sakleshpurstays.in, but since the round of meetings led by the chief minister about the second wave began, inquiries have declined. “There is no cancellation, but no fresh booking. For April, we started questioning Chennai and Mumbai, but now many people have stopped their plans. With panic around COVID-19, they are getting cautious, ”he said.
Shri Gurudev admitted that the situation was getting clouded due to uncertainty. “For many, tourism is their bread and butter, and for others, it was a compensatory income, especially when they suffered losses in plantations due to unseasonal rains,” he said.
Officials of the Karnataka State Tourism Development Corporation (KSTDC) said the Tirupati package, a popular offering of the corporation, is receiving good response. Officials said, however, that the impact of the increasing number of COVID-19 cases in other packages inquiries is beginning to show.
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