Skift Take
The Coldplay concerts have fans from all over India scrambling to get tickets – reselling is rampant and at exorbitant prices. And now, booking hotels is getting more expensive for the fans, as well.
Coldplay is coming to Mumbai in January, and the hotels are ready to make money off of it. The band’s three-show event has caused hotel prices near the DY Patil Stadium to surge to INR 640,000 ($7,600) for three nights, according to prices listed on Booking.com.
The Regenza By Tunga is priced at INR 360,000 ($4,300) for three nights while The Fern Residency Turbhe is listed at close to INR 250,000 ($3,000). Booking.com shows that despite the high price, Four Points by Sheraton Navi Mumbai only has two rooms available, and The Regenza By Tunga has one room available.
All major branded hotels, including Taj The Trees, JW Marriott in Sahar and Juhu, The Westin in Garden City and Powai Lake, Four Seasons Hotel, The St. Regis Mumbai, and The Oberoi Mumbai are all listed at over INR 150,000 ($1,800) for three nights during the concert, according to online travel platform Yatra.
Typically, these hotels charge between INR 7,000 to INR 30,000 ($84 to $360) per night.
All Sold Out: Most of the hotel inventory has already been sold out, with only about 20 branded and unbranded hotels remaining available within a 10-km (6-mile) radius of the venue. Courtyard by Marriott near the venue and Taj Vivanta in Vashi have been sold out, according to MakeMyTrip.
Coldplay tickets have caused frenzy among Indians, with the band having to add a third show in Mumbai hours after the tickets for its original two shows rapidly sold out. Entertainment platform BookMyShow’s servers crashed on Sunday as thousands of users queued up to purchase tickets.
Booking.com’s trend report for 2024 noted that 33% of Indians were keen to take a trip this year to attend an event like a music festival and concerts.
IndiGo Commences Services to Mauritius
Low-cost carrier IndiGo has announced direct flights to Mauritius from Bengaluru starting November. With this, the carrier will become the first one post-pandemic to start operations on this route. Mauritius has become IndiGo’s 35th international destination. The airline will operate on the route four times a week.
At present, Air Mauritius operates flights between Mauritius and Delhi and Mauritius-Mumbai route. It also commenced flights to Chennai earlier this year. Meanwhile, Vistara operates Mumbai-Mauritius flights, which will likely be taken over by Air India post merger.
In 2023, close to 54,000 Indians visited Mauritius, and this year, the country is targeting 85,000 Indian travelers. Indians can travel visa-free to Mauritius. The country’s tourism authority is focusing on the Tier-2 and Tier-3 regions in India to attract tourists. It has also enabled digital payments through India’s UPI technology to make travel payments more convenient for travelers.
EaseMyTrip Launched Co-Branded Travel Debit Card
Online travel company EaseMyTrip has partnered with Bank of Baroda to launch a co-branded travel debit card. This is the first co-branded travel debit card by a public sector bank in India. The card is specifically meant for frequent travelers and lifestyle enthusiasts.
Users of the card would get features such as discounts on travel bookings, access to airport lounges, as well as complimentary memberships to some OTT platforms.
What is Inspiring Indians to Travel?
Movies, shows, and social media are the biggest inspirations for Indian travelers, a new report by Booking.com has said. The report said that over 40% of Indians watch TV shows and movies for inspiration for travel and activities. In fact, over 60% of Indians are motivated to try new food or cuisine that they saw in a movie or TV show. Apart from this, 58% wish to see landmarks that are made famous on the screen.
This is one of the reasons why states such as Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh have introduced a film tourism policy, while the government of India is also working on a policy. The aim is to incentivize film shooting in the states and leverage the popularity of the films to attract its fans.
As many as 66% Indians are also using social media to gather travel ideas. While influencers inspire a lot of Indians, a significant majority also look at the social media posts of their friends and family to decide on their next trip.
Intrepid Foundation Launches Holy City Rickshaws in Varanasi
Intrepid Travel’s non-profit body Intrepid Foundation has launched Holy City Rickshaws in Varanasi to promote sustainable tourism. As part of this initiative, the foundation will have 10 e-rickshaws that will be driven by female drivers. Intrepid has partnered with ACCESS Development for this.
The program will train women to drive and maintain e-rickshaws for tours of Varanasi. Intrepid will then incorporate the female-led tours into several of its itineraries in India.
“Today, women make up nearly one-third of our local team in India, and by 2025, we hope to double the number of tour leaders’ country-wide,” said Rama Mahendru, Country General Manager – India at Intrepid Travel.
Festivities, Natural Beauty Dominate Travel Search Trends
Airbnb is seeing an uptick in travel searches for the upcoming festive and autumn season in September to November. Airbnb’s General Manager for India, Southeast Asia, Hong Kong, and Taiwan, Amanpreet Bajaj said that more Indians are seeking either unique festive experiences or natural beauty.
The top domestic destination is Kanpur in Uttar Pradesh, where travelers wish to experience the upcoming Dussehra festivities. The Lakshadweep archipelago is also a preferred destination. There is heightened interest in festival celebrations at Ujjain and the Himalayan views of Munsiyari in Uttarakhand, the platform said.
Internationally, Tokyo is the most preferred location as Indians wish to experience the autumn leaf viewing, followed by Amalfi Coast.
