During October 22 to October 31, the peak holiday dates for the vacation, a direct, return flight to Kochi would cost Rs 70,464 per person. Online travel portals show a return flight to Bagdogra to be around Rs 38,774. As there are fewer direct flights to destinations such as Kochi, Chandigarh and Bagdogra, the airfares are particularly high. This is mainly because these destinations have higher tourist footfalls during the vacation season and that the revenge travel sentiment among tourists has picked up after being denied travel during the long Covid hiatus.
The high spirits of vacationers might dampen due to airfares to major cities and major holiday destinations skyrocketing up to 683%, especially on direct flights. It would seem that taking a long road trip may be a better alternative than flying down,
Kochi is the landing point for all destinations in Kerala, Dehradun brings one to Uttarakhand, Chandigarh to Himachal Pradesh and Bagdogra to Darjeeling and the Northeast. Flight bookings to major cities in these sectors for the Diwali vacation cost 1.5-2 times more than normal if booked today.
Diwali 2022 falls on Monday, October 24, just after a weekend on October 22 and 23. Businesses normally take a break till Labh Pancham which falls on Saturday – October 29. With Saatam on October 31, the vacation season would be October 22-31.
Those who have booked their tickets in advance find themselves lucky with some may have to rethink their plans. As this Diwali, even hotels in major tourist destinations such as Goa, Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Kerala and the Northeast are booked.
Many travellers made early bookings this time around because a similar spike was witnessed in airfares during the August long weekend around Independence Day and Janmashtami. A lot of travel operators have also blocked tickets at affordable fares which have resulted in airfares being skyrocketed.
Also Read: India’s International Tourism To Reach $42 Bn By 2024
