Domestic tourism industry registers 23.5% increase in monsoon season: ASSOCHAM

NEW DELHI: Lowered room rates and and discounts offered by hotels, resorts and airlines are pushing up the country's domestic tourism. According to a new research, domestic tourism is up by up by 23.5% during the monsoon season as compared to 18.5% last year, reveals the ASSOCHAM latest paper.

The survey added that there has been a surge in domestic travel in the last three years during the monsoon season. The demand driven by the burgeoning middle class and rising incomes and discounts.

DS Rawat, secretary general ASSOCHAM said monsoons were typically considered to be a lean travel period for families. But travel packages up to 20-25% lower prices help push up travel during the season.

The survey was carried out in major cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Chennai, Kolkata, Jaipur, Chandigarh, Lucknow and Ahemdabad with about 350 tour operators.

"There are many states who all are promoting monsoon tourism in a big way with special deals on offer at hotels and resorts," he said adds the survey. As per the study, Goa, Kerala, Ladakh, Jaipur, Agra and Udaipur are among the most popular places for monsoon travel, says the ASSOCHAM paper. Now, the tourism industry is giving equal importance to domestic tourism because the growth in the domestic leisure sector has been extraordinary over the last couple of years.

The paper adds that the most popular destinations include Goa, Agra, Jaipur, Ooty, Munnar, Kodaikanal, Odisha, Gangtok, Manali, Darjeeling, Himachal, Kerala and even Sri Lanka.