The Hindu Business Line : Terror aftermath: Travel bookings drop and cancellations rise

Bangalore, Dec. 2 There has been a sharp drop of 30-40 per cent in group travel bookings, while several individual tourists have started cancelling their trips to India.

A spokesperson for a general sales agent (GSA) for a clutch of international airlines said several travel agents have started reporting huge cancellations in group bookings.

“The terrorist attacks have also impacted domestic travel. Those who were planning a trip to Mumbai have cancelled their trips and are demanding full refund. They do not want us to even charge a cancellation fee,” he added.

“We will have to wait for a few weeks to see what the actual numbers are,” said Ms Richa Goyal Sikri, Director-Group Business Development, STIC Travel Group. “As of now, we have received requests for change in itineraries to exclude Mumbai, but there have been no significant cancellations.”

Tourist season

An Air India spokesperson Business Line spoke to echoed similar sentiments: “Most passengers are deferring their plans rather than cancelling their travel outright.” There wouldn’t be any long-term impact of the terror attacks, he added.

“October to March is the peak vacation (inbound) tourist season, which is likely to be impacted, the extent of which would be known in the coming few weeks by way of cancellations in various sectors,” said Mr Taposh Chakraborty, Principal, Boutique Hospitality Consulting, Bangalore.

Business travel is likely to be affected in Mumbai (and Pune), but for a short period only, he said, adding, “business has to go on”.

However, other business-centric cities are not likely to be much affected, he felt.

Short-term effect

“This unfortunate event is certainly an aberration and will dent the confidence of travellers. Leisure travel will be hit harder in the short term as holiday makers will be concerned about their safety, security and well-being. The hospitality sector will also be adversely impacted because leisure and business travellers are likely to defer non-essential travel in the immediate future,” said Mr Kapil Arora, Partner, Aviation Sector, Ernst & Young.

According to Mr Ashwin Damera, Founder and CEO, Travelguru, there have been several cancellations not just for Mumbai hotels but for other cities as well. “About 25 per cent of our bookings for this week have been either cancelled or rescheduled.” Several queries for big business from customers abroad, especially from the US and the UK, are falling through, he said.

The travel portal has not charged any cancellation fee for any bookings done for Mumbai during this period and “many hotels have supported us. So in most cases we have refunded 100 per cent,” he added.

According to Mr Chakraborty, the magnitude of the impact will be directly proportionate to the speed at which the authorities take convincing measures to ensure safety and security of travellers, “especially at airports, railways stations, bus stations, market places, tourist spots and business districts”.

“The terrorist attacks come as a double whammy for us after the recent controversy over the transaction fee,” said Mr P. Sampath Kumar, Managing Director, Visa Tours and Travels, and the National Managing Committee Member of Travel Agents Federation of India.