PANJIM: The long weekend coinciding with the Ganesh Chaturthi holidays is expected to bring in a number of tourists, but their travel costs are not going to be cheap.
Airlines and inter-state buses have hiked ticket prices and will arguably reap the benefits of the four-day holiday. With the neighbouring states of Maharashtra and areas in Karnataka also celebrating the festival, flights and private interstate buses from these States have increased the minimum fare.
While some airlines and road transport companies have already increased their fares, others are considering doing so.
A one-way air ticket from Bangalore to Goa that on an average costs Rs 4,490 per passenger, will, on the first day of Ganesh Chaturthi, September 17, cost up to Rs 18,767, while a day earlier on September 16 the maximum air fare is Rs 23,635 and lowest is Rs 3,033.
Similarly, Mumbai-Goa bound flights are charging passengers between Rs 5,433 and Rs 18,470 on September 17 and Rs 4,650-Rs 16, 978 on the eve of the festival.
While early morning and late night flights are cheaper than those at normal business hours, their rates too this week have increased.
An airline official said the rush on long weekends leads to an escalation in air fares. “There is always a rush on any long weekend. The fares could be higher depending on the demand. However, cheaper flights even on such occasions are possible if passengers opt to book in advance,” an assistant sales manager of a reputed airline company in Goa told Herald.
A senior manager attached with another airline company echoed a similar opinion adding that during festivals or long holidays, there is often a restriction on the number of seats for the economy class. “But low fares are still applicable on these seats,” he said. He justified the increase saying, “We see the market conditions and demand from the passengers but no airline will abruptly levy a high air fare as we are bound by certain rules and regulations.”
The over 150 Mumbai-Goa and Bangalore-Goa buses have also cashed in on the demand and increased their ticket rates. A trip from Mumbai to Goa this week will cost between Rs 1700 and Rs 3000 for passengers traveling on the eve of Ganesh Chaturthi while they will have to shell out Rs 800 to Rs 2,999 on September 17.
Return tickets on the weekend are also not cheap as airfares to Bangalore are fixed at Rs 2,931 to Rs 14,228 on September 19 and Rs 7,377 to Rs 21,753 on September 20. Likewise, a Goa-Mumbai air ticket will cost Rs 2,137 to Rs 17,394 and Rs 6,309 to Rs 24,520 on September 19 and 20, respectively. Web portals have been constantly updating the fluctuating tariff.
Such is the rush to be in Goa this week, that the special trains introduced on the Konkan Railway (KR) route to ease the festival rush have thousands of passengers on the waiting list. Speaking to Herald, KRC PRO Baban Ghatge said “Since we have many passengers traveling to different places for the festival, KRC introduced 244 special trains in addition to the existing ones on the route.” He conceded that tickets were booked quickly and a number of passengers are on the waiting list.
All fares are as on www.yatra.com, www.redbus.in on Tuesday morning.
