The resort chain been witnessing robust bookings since third wave of COVID ended

Luxury resort chain Leisure Hotels Group expects a peak summer holiday season this year. The Group has been witnessing robust bookings after the third Covid19 wave ended in February and is optimistic that the bookings for April, May and June this year would even surpass the pre-pandemic levels. The Group, in fact, sees a full recovery for its business in the summer quarter.

It is attributing this boost to the pent-up demand for summer travel from northern India. Moreover, the first-time direct air connectivity of Kumaon in Uttarakhand with major metropolitan cities across India including Dehradun, Delhi, Bengaluru and Mumbai and to Pantnagar Airport and Bareilly Airport, is also a factor adding to the boost, along with inter-connecting flights with Hyderabad, Goa, Varanasi, Jaipur and Lucknow.

“The summer heat has set in early, and people are escaping to the hills to beat the summer heatwaves. We are seeing robust demand across all hill destinations and have advance bookings in record numbers for May and June. Furthermore, Pantnagar Airport is now well connected with daily flights of multiple airlines to important hubs like Delhi and Dehradun which has made travel easier for tourists coming to the Himalayan State. The Bareilly Airport is also now open for commercial direct flights and has reduced the overall travel time for both Mumbai and Bengaluru citizens by half,” said Vibhas Prasad, Director, Leisure Hotels Group.

Factors driving growth for the group are primarily the increased air connectivity of Uttarakhand with prominent cities and the revenge travel trend among domestic tourists. Things seem to be looking up on all fronts including business travel, MICE, social gatherings and functions, along with leisure travel, staycations, long weekend getaways, summer vacation travel and adventure, to name a few.

“We are witnessing a noteworthy growth of 1.5 times in demand on a week-on-week basis across our entire portfolio since March. The current spate of bookings is expected to last till the end of the summer holidays. We are cautiously optimistic that pick-up in travel and tourism activities will go on without interruptions and are closely monitoring the Covid19 cases in Delhi-NCR," Prasad added.