Travel companies see brisk business as more countries open up borders

Wider recognition of Covaxin has also helped in opening up travel opportunities for those vaccinated with the jab

Wider acceptance of Indian vaccines and easing of restrictions by countries has opened up more choices for Indian leisure tourists.

While Dubai and Maldives have been favourite destinations since last year, Indians are now planning trips to neighbouring countries such as Oman, Sri Lanka, Thailand and also to the UK and the US.

“We have seen a significant jump in international travel bookings for November and as per the data on the platform the month is leading with maximum travel bookings during the quarter. There is significant uptick in searches and bookings to the UK, we are now seeing similar traction building up for searches to the US,” said Vipul Prakash, chief operating officer of MakeMyTrip.

While the UK withdrew the quarantine requirement for Indian travellers vaccinated with Covishield in October, the US has opened the doors for fully vaccinated tourists from Monday. Closer home, Thailand began welcoming vaccinated tourists from sixty countries including India from November 1. Indonesia has reduced the quarantine for tourists visiting Bali to three days from existing five. Sri Lanka too is luring visitors due to easy connectivity and affordable prices.

“The re-opening of Sri Lanka has resulted in brisk demand especially from South India,” said Rajeev Kale, president and country head (holidays), Thomas Cook India.

The tour operator is also seeing customer interest for travel to Thailand, Mauritius and Bali which opened doors for Indian tourists recently. However, limited access due to lack of air travel bubbles is impacting travel plans.

At present there are no passenger flights between India and Mauritius and Air Mauritius has sought government approval to resume flights to India. Similarly,  those travelling to Bali are looking for flight options via West Asia or Colombo.

To tap the travel demand, MakeMyTrip and IndiGo have teamed up to offer air charter and holiday packages to Phuket in December and January. “We have witnessed an increased demand for leisure travel and this product will offer a unique opportunity for Indian travellers to celebrate the festivities in style,” said Sanjay Kumar, chief commercial and strategy officer, IndiGo.

South Africa Tourism which organised a virtual roadshow for Indian travel agents last month too is pushing for direct connectivity and e-visas. “India is a high potential source market for us. Infact the market has been recognised as one of our key international focus markets along with China and Nigeria,” said Neliswa Nkani, hub head (Middle East, India and South East Asia), South Africa Tourism.

Meanwhile, wider recognition of Covaxin has opened up travel opportunities for those vaccinated with the Bharat Biotech-manufactured jabs. On November 3 the World Health Organisation granted emergency use listing for Covaxin. This would pave the way for more countries to recognise the vaccine. Recently Oman and Finland granted approval to Covaxin. Australia too has approved it but the country still remains closed for foreign tourists.

“We are expecting an uptick in demand after Diwali. The recognition of Covaxin has generated interest among people and we are receiving queries including for leisure travel and destination weddings in Oman,” said Sunil VA, regional vice president (Asia-Pacific), Oman Air.