It seems that Gujaratis Tourism is now back on the track after the major changes in the government policies due to demonetization effect and GST implementation throughout the country. Many Gujaratis had dropped their travel plans in the last 1.5 years. The bookings and inquiries related to travel destinations in Gujarat were degraded in the past eighteen months and now coming on the track for both international as well as domestic destinations. The travel agencies in the city of Gujarat are anticipating a growth of 10-15 percent during this year.
Travel Agents Association of Gujarat (TAG) stated “We expect a growth of about 10-15% this year. The growth is faster for international destinations than domestic ones.”
Some of the popular domestic destinations are Leh, Ladakh, Himachal Pradesh, Darjeeling, Gangtok, Kerala, and Goa. On another hand, A couple of popular international destinations are Dubai, Singapore, and Europe. Rajasthan is one of the best places among the domestic travel destinations, say travel agents and tour operators. Other international destinations include Australia and Canada which are also liked by the local travellers.
In the past few months, tourists observed that they had to replan their travel plans due to the demonetization and GST implementation. Tourists either had to diminish the number of days or the hotel quality. We are expecting that during this summer vacation it will not happen. One of the travel agents in Ahmedabad said, “GST and demonetization are a thing of the past. We can say that things are now back on track.”
Travel Agents stated that due to the enhancement of air connectivity in the country and abroad, more demand to travel domestic and abroad destinations is being reported. Additionally, a large number of airlines are available in Ahmedabad including Gujarat and several other cities which have made the air travel cheaper as compared to the past years. Foreign countries are enticing Indian tourists and providing fast visa clearance facility to them.
According to Travel Agents Association of Gujarat (TAG), “Canada is clearing visa applications in about 10 days. It has natural beauty, cruise facility as well as Niagara Falls. We are witnessing more inquiries and bookings.”
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Travel Agents said that this year bookings and inquiries related to travel destination are expected to go as high as 40% as compared to the previous year, “Gujaratis want to escape the scorching summers, so they travel. Excess of offers also raised awareness of customers, however, there are last minute bookings, too.”
