Tourist spots come back to life as the young hit the road

NEW DELHI: Young Indians are hitting the road and going on long driving holidays of 500 kilometres and more, relieved to be out and about after being cooped up for three months.

Millennials in the north are driving to Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, where there’s no quarantine if you’re able to produce a Covid-19 negative test result. Rajasthan is another popular destination that has no restrictions for such travellers.

Travel and tourism have been devastated by the disease and the lockdown that ensued and while much of the industry is still dormant, this trend makes for a few positive signals.


Goa began rapid antigen testing at the airport last week, so arriving tourists can get a result in 30 minutes. If negative, they can travel within the state. Villas with plunge pools, isolated resorts and destinations adjacent to popular locations — Mashobra instead of Shimla — are being sought, according to holiday companies.

But the drive-cations also require planning, organising of documents, advance booking and understanding of regulations. Karan Malhotra, a commodities trader from Gurgaon, made a trip to Rajasthan recently with six others, including his wife.

There were just eight active Covid-19 cases in Jhunjhunu, the district they chose to visit, having checked disease prevalence multiple times before they made the bookings. “We were all tired of sitting at home, but we were informed that we would be the only occupants of the resort (WelcomHotel Koolwal Kothi).

That really pushed us to take a call on driving there,” said Malhotra, 32. There were no dhaba breaks, next-to-no bathroom halts and almost a month of planning to make the weekend holiday happen.

Many travellers carry water and food for the journey. Another group of friends took off to the Mashobra hills near Shimla last week. “We just really wanted to take a break from all the bad news and not being able to socialise,” said one of them, currently self-isolating after the return. It took nearly a month to plan the five-day-trip because of the permissions needed and tests each one of the trio had to take before leaving.

The bed and breakfast booking was made three days before they left. There were no tourists in Shimla and so distancing was easy, said the person. Next on his agenda is a trip to Goa, provided his friends agree to tag along. Many states still have strict requirements such as an e-pass and a Covid negative certificate.

However, Goa’s rapid antigen test is encouraging to holidaymakers. In the past few weeks, companies such as MakeMyTrip and boutique travel websites like Luxury Escapes, FAB Getaways and Mountain Homestays have seen a rise in queries for destinations within driving reach, say 300-500 km, of metro cities. MakeMyTrip has noted such an increase in demand from Delhi as well as NCR. Prices are attractive, given the situation, and bookings are being made for stays in and around Shimla, Kasauli and Manali in the north, it said.

MakeMyTrip has noted such an increase in demand from Delhi and NCR. Prices are attractive, given the situation, and bookings are being made for stays in and around Shimla, Kasauli and Manali in the north, it said. Bangaloreans have been leading the self-drive holiday trend in the south with people booking retreats in Coorg and Chikmagalur.

“Scepticism to travel long distances (by flight) continues to influence travel and people are instead opting for quick weekend getaways in suburban resorts,” says MakeMyTrip chief operating officer Vipul Prakash.

These signs of recovery are nascent. The only travel corridors that seem to have recovered to a large extent are Delhi-Rajasthan and Gujarat-Rajasthan. Traffic is half of what it was in July 2019 for this region, said Luxury Escape India country manager Arun Ashok.

Driving destinations for those in Maharashtra such as Goa are seeing more interest than they did during the past two months and transactions are also picking up. Rajasthan, Ashok said, realises the value of tourism revenue, so the locals are supportive of travellers visiting, unlike some other states.

Mountain Homestays, which curates experiences in Ladakh, has got 40-50 inquiries from those in the 25-40 age bracket. Although their homestays aren't up and running yet, they are taking bookings without deposits or advance payments.

FAB Getaways said people are now willing to travel up to 500 km away from their homes. “Villa properties and private pool properties are doing much better than even before Covid-19. People are booking them just a week or two in advance and just taking off,” said Raaj Bajaj of FAB Getaways.

This story is part of a series of articles in association with Facebook. Facebook has no editorial role in this story.