It has been a pretty chaotic time for the aviation industry. For
two years all the aircrafts were parked in various airports around the world.
In the last couple of months various airlines have commenced drastically
restricted services to countries. These flights itself were in controlled
conditions and were operated in an air bubble. This meant the cost of tickets
was astronomical and it made flying as the last option in emergencies or for
the very rich. Now with the war on in Ukraine the cost of fuel has increased
pushing the cost of airfare even higher. This can have repercussions. In Goa it
is not unusual for families to fly out of the state during the summer vacations
to cooler climes in Europe or elsewhere. But now with this increase in cost has
this meant a change in plans
For travel agents in the state it is a case of mixed feelings.
Gautam Bhende who runs a travel agency in Panjim said right now flights were
very expensive if one wanted to go abroad. He said however people were
considering international destinations nearer to home. He said “Places like Sri
Lanka, Maldives, and Cambodia were proving to be places of interest to Goans.
However there were still some considering Europe and countries like France and
Spain were issuing visas for tourism, however the cost of the tickets are on
the higher side. Countries like Germany and Luxembourg were issuing visas only
for business travel and not encouraging tourists. Very few airlines are
flying”. He however said many Goans were now looking at domestic destinations
seriously. He said people were looking at Sikkim, Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and
Uttaranchal. People he said preferred to visit them because of all the
restrictions in place.
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Gaurish Dharwadker,
another travel agent, said the general feeling was that people wanted to
travel. Indians he said were tough and used to these shocks. Gaurish said
“Remember for those with money, these hikes don’t really matter. For those who
travel abroad, they have had to stay put because of all the restrictions on
cross border travel. Thanks to the bubble arrangement the airlines made good
money. Within India, too the price of tickets has increased but people are
looking at destinations like the North East. Small groups are considering going
to places like Kashmir, Sikkim and Assam are getting a good response. These are
now attractive destinations. Those who are going abroad are those with jobs,
students or businessmen going to tie up business deals.”
Muriel who heads the
package business in a major travel agency in Margao said people were not
travelling this year to destinations in Europe. People she said were looking at
destinations like Dubai, Singapore and Thailand. These destinations she said
were economical and falling in the Rs 60,000 to 65,000 bracket. Queries for
Europe were coming up for destinations like France and Switzerland. The budgets
were in the region of Rs 1,25,000 and the duration of stay was for a week.
Queries for cheaper places in Eastern Europe were also coming in. With regards
to domestic destinations, Shimla, Kashmir and Sikkim were proving to be
popular. Though for people who were looking for short breaks, Ooty was an
interesting option.
Hemant S who was
considering travelling abroad said it was a matter of great emergency which
needed to be tackled otherwise he would have preferred staying put in Goa. He
said “The cost of the ticket in some airlines is eye watering and these
airlines are certainly making the most of these strange conditions. I hope it
all works out fine and the situation goes back to what it was in pre-covid
times”.
That
is something everyone will hope happens sooner rather than later.
