Long August weekend: 30 per cent spike in airfares

AHMEDABAD: If you are planning a long weekend getaway around the Independence Day, but have not yet booked tickets or accommodation, your holiday might be an expensive affair. Airfares to major holiday destinations have shot up significantly even when booking almost a month ahead of the trip. Estimates provided by travel agents and tour operators across the city indicate a 30% surge in airfares for that period.

“Airfares are largely driven by demand and thus, prices are bound to increase around long weekends when more people prefer to travel,” said Sanjeev Chhajer, a city-based travel consultant. “Of late, young professionals and couples have been travelling out over the weekends quite frequently; the prohibition policy in the state plays a part in that trend.”

Around most long weekends, airfares tend to skyrocket because of the rise in demand. “To cater to this demand, wholesale ticketing agents make bulk bookings to create packages that overall turn out to be cheaper,” said Anuj Pathak, secretary, Travel Agents and Tour Operators Association of Gujarat (TAG). “At present, airfares to destinations such as Goa, Delhi, Chennai, and Bengaluru are significantly high around the long weekend.”


Tour operators said that flights that operate around peak hours — early mornings or late evenings — are typically expensive as they are preferred by tourists who want to make the most of their holidays. In fact, there is a slight rise in bookings for short-haul international destinations as well. “Thailand and Dubai are some of the favourite short-sector destinations for long weekend holidays and therefore, airfares to these destinations have gone up by 30-40%,” said Suhag Modi, the general manager of a city-based travel company.

Owing to the recent implementation of the Goods and Services Tax (GST), tariffs for certain hotels might also shoot up significantly. “Customers who have pre-booked their holidays even on discounted prices might have to shell out more for hotels at the time of travel due to the GST,” said a city-based tour operator.