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Health Secretary Lav Agarwal called it ‘revenge travel’. Yes, sort of revenge it is. After one-and-a-half years of lockdown, subsequent claustrophobic anxiety and the lack of social contact, many are frantically putting on their travelling shoes and heading away from home.

Now that the deadly second wave of the Covid-19  is subsiding, States are gradually unlocking and the vaccination drive is in a full swing, those in metros and mini-metros are heading up to the nearby tourist spots to soak themselves up in the open nature after months of being cooped up inside.

The internet has been abuzz with pictures of tourists, many without masks, flocking hill stations in Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, or towns near metro cities– Agra, Jaipur and Lonavala. Many secluded destinations too find favour with travellers.

Brisk business for travel and hospitality sector

This has given a new lease of life to one of the worst pandemic-hit sectors: travel and hospitality. SOTC Travel’s Third Holiday Readiness Report (June 2021), published in The Times of India, reveals that over 69% of Indians are keen to travel in 2021, mostly to Himachal Pradesh, Ladakh and Kashmir, and foreign destinations Dubai, Maldives, Russia and Switzerland.

Airbnb, the online marketplace for arranging lodgings, has witnessed the overall bookings in India in the first quarter of 2021 surpassing the 2019 levels. A survey by Airbnb-YouGov, however, indicated a high interest in domestic destinations, especially those which are within driving distance.

Times of India quoted Simran Kodesia, communications lead, India and Southeast Asia, as saying that “66% are considering trips that are a drive away from key metros — such as Lonavla, Shimla, Manali and Pune.”

Another study by credit card payment platform CRED has recorded a rise of 7% in spending on travel and leisure by affluent customers across Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Pune, Kolkata and Hyderabad in recent months. The study showed that consumers aged between 30-60 years are spending more on travel.

Rajiv Subramanian, vice-president of global online travel company Cleartrip, has said that advance bookings (with travel dates more than four weeks away) are over 10% this year compared to 5% in 2020. “We expect the increased momentum of the vaccination drive and reduced caseloads to catalyse domestic travel recovery in the next two quarters,” PTI quoted him as saying.

Take the example of a Noida-based IT professional. Avinash Giri (37) chose the quiet town of Naggar in Himachal Pradesh’s Kullu district for his ‘workcation’, along with his wife and children.

“This is the first time that we have travelled since the onset of the pandemic. My wife and children wanted to be out and I decided on this secluded Naggar district. The view, the weather, everything is amazing here,” he told PTI, adding that they would travel at least for a month to different places in Himachal Pradesh. Both Giri and his wife are partially vaccinated.

The rush is so much that a Uttarakhand hotelier said even homes are being turned into homestays at the spots, which once faced the closure of hotels.

Among those offering pocket-friendly stays, budget hostel chain goSTOPS and multi-hospitality chain OYO witnessed a major spike in June enquiries and bookings.

Five-star hotels too are witnessing pent-up demand, especially among the affluent few who don’t want to leave their city. In ITC Hotels safe ‘staycations’ and responsible dining has gained traction.

“There has been a sharp increase in weekend occupancy at ITC Maurya, with guests excited to stay safely within the comforts of their own city. The ‘drivecation’ has also gained ground. Our hotels in the golden triangle — ITC Grand Bharat (Manesar), Mughal (Agra) and Rajputana (Jaipur) — have witnessed demand among travellers,” Times of India quoted Benita Sharma, area manager North, ITC Hotels, as saying.

Voice of concern

While travel-lovers are taking sweet revenge, the threat of virus remains. Earlier on Tuesday, the Union Health and Family Welfare Ministry expressed concern over reports of people flocking to tourist destinations.

Stressing that only the COVID-appropriate behaviour can contain the virus, Health Secretary Agarwal cautioned that “revenge travel” was dangerous. “People need to understand that the fight against the COVID-19 is still underway. We can nullify the ease of restrictions again if protocols are not complied with,” he said, hinting at another lockdown.

According to MyGov data, India recorded 43,393 new COVID cases in the last 24 hours and 44,459 recoveries with a discharge rate of 97.19%. There have been 911 deaths in the last 24 hours.