Summer vacation is yet to start but summer travel is in full swing.
The visa logjams for some Schengen countries are prompting many people to travel to other cities for visa processing or delay their travel plans.
Tour operators and airlines said the demand for leisure travel is high from the middle of May till June for destinations like the UK, the US, Switzerland, Italy. The demand is high for Thailand, Singapore and the UAE, too. In the domestic sector, flights for Bagdogra are going full. So are the ones for Delhi, a gateway to summer holiday destinations in Himachal Pradesh and Kashmir.
“Around this time last year, tourism had just resumed after a prolonged Covid-induced break. But the fares for destinations abroad were high because of fewer international flights from Kolkata. So many opted for domestic destinations. This time there are more flights, especially those connecting the city to Europe and the US via their hubs. So the fares are not that high,” said Manav Soni, chairman, Travel Agents Association of India, east.
“This has led to more international leisure travel during the summer break.”
Tour operators said the return fare for the UK is Rs 85,000 for the middle of May. Around this time last year, the trip cost more than Rs 1 lakh.
The return fare for the US is around Rs 1.5 lakh for the middle of May, travel agents said. Last year, it was more than Rs 2 lakh. Kolkata-based businessman Pramod Lunawat will leave on a 18-day trip to London, Germany and Greece with his wife on May 8.
“I went to Switzerland via Dubai earlier this month with my parents and wife for a 14-day leisure trip. In May, we will be travelling through Abu Dhabi. The hotel tariff has started increasing because of high demand,” said Lunawat.
Avijit Das, director, Hermes Voyages, said the demand for hotels in some popular destinations was soaring from the end of May till June.
“Among the European countries, the demand is particularly high for Switzerland, France and Italy. It is difficult to book hotels in some popular destinations like Interlaken, Lucerne and Paris for June. Most hotels in these places are sold out,” said Das.
“For June, a hotel in Interlaken whose usual tariff is Rs 25,000 per day is now demanding Rs 90,000 because most of the hotels near the railway station are sold out,” he said.
Travel agents said that with Covid under control, people are desperate to go on holidays and are making plans despite problems in getting a visa.
One Kolkatan was planning to go to Switzerland in May but did not get a slot for visa interview for the month.
“She has deferred her trip to June and got an appointment for the visa interview in the middle of May,” said her travel agent. Abhijit Dasgupta, who works for a private company, wanted to visit Austria and Hungary in May but was not getting a slot for a visa interview in Kolkata. “We went to Goa for visa processing. We have planned to go to Europe because we want to see the concert of Diana Krall (jazz pianist and singer), who will perform this time in Austria,” said Dasgupta.
“In Goa, I got a slot on March 29, my wife on April 6 and my son on April 11. We didn’t mind,” he said.