As we are approaching towards the fag end of the year, travel operators the world over are witnessing a mixed year with leisure bookings and holiday travel fluctuating with the COVID-19 cases on the rise in the US and most countries in Europe with the second wave on. Though India has had its share of COVID cases, it seems that it has fought back the pandemic well and played down the effects of pandemic. Travel bookings went up significantly in September over August in spite of the increase in the number of COVID-19 cases, indicating recovery phase in the tourism sector that has been paralysed by the extended lockdown. Overall, it registered a maximum recovery rate of 340 per cent and hit a low at 80 percent, according to a reliable report.  

Travellers during this period mostly opted for villas, homestays, villas and other personalised accommodation models. According to another whitepaper released on October 1, domestic leisure picked up steam in India, and several states like Punjab, Karnataka and Rajasthan started attracting domestic leisure guests for the first time ever since the outbreak earlier this March. Hotels in the state of Goa too, which had seen an all-time low occupancy figures until August, improved their numbers, especially in the weekend leisure category, moving into the month of October

As people begin to gradually step out of their homes post relaxation of lockdown, there has been a steady rise in the number of booking and those who search for road trips to close-home destinations or short-term holidays. Similarly, there has been an increase in the travel bookings for home stays in seaside resorts or hills away from the hustle and bustle of the city. Business travel that literally saw zero-figures during the lockdown has also picked up in India during the month of October.