‘The return of the family holiday’- a shot in the arm for the bleeding hospitality sector

Post the COVID-19 second wave, the hospitality sector is seeing a recovery in certain pockets of the country as people reunite after almost two years

It is now a familiar, if admittedly ironic pattern: when cases go down, travel goes up. Despite the brutality of the second wave, just a month later, with the steady decline in COVID-19 cases, people are setting off on vacations again: reuniting with family and friends, or just breaking away from the tense, lonely monotony of lockdown by heading to the hills, beaches and mountains. Reeling under the brutal impact of the pandemic, the hospitality sector is slowly seeing a recovery in pockets of the country. States like Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand have relaxed the mandatory RT-PCR test for tourists, encouraging more people to visit. Institutional quarantine is not required any more for those crossing State borders, making short holidays possible. Crippled by the uncertainties due to the pandemic, the hospitality sector is still far from a complete recovery. However, the current influx of tourists is bringing some hope for the sector, battered by a financial crisis like never before. According to a recent survey carried out in Tier-1, 2 and 3 cities by Thomas Cook India and SOTC Travel, a significant 69% respondents indicated a keen interest to travel in 2021 as restrictions ease, with 18% ready to travel immediately post-unlock and 51% within three-six months.