Skift India Report: G20 Summit Weekend Drives Demand for Short Getaways

Travel fintech start-up SanKash has observed a surge in travel bookings from September 8 to 10 as the capital city of New Delhi prepares for a scheduled closure for the G20 Summit. 

SanKash’s data indicates that a growing number of individuals are capitalizing on the situation by traveling for a three-day retreat.

“We’re witnessing an exciting trend where people are leveraging the Delhi shutdown as an opportunity to escape the routine and explore new environments without sacrificing their work commitments,” said Akash Dahiya, co-founder and CEO of SanKash. “This marks a notable shift in the way people perceive travel – it’s no longer just about vacations, but also about achieving work-life balance in inspiring settings.”

Key Findings: 

• Puducherry has emerged as the top choice among travelers, with 40% of bookings, followed by Daman and Diu securing 30% of domestic bookings. While Goa appeals to 11% of travelers, Sikkim and Kerala are also making their mark. 
  
• Couple travelers accounted for 42% of bookings, solo adventurers stood at 30%, and family and friends contributed to 28% of bookings.

The company had earlier revealed that there has been a whopping 250% surge in solo travel at the start of this year. Jammu and Kashmir, Manali and Shimla emerged as the most preferred destinations for solo travelers.

Marriott’s India Operator Samhi Hotels Gets Regulator Nod to Float IPO

Indian stock market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) (Sebi) gave a green light to hotel ownership and asset management platform Samhi Hotels to raise funds through an initial public offering. 

The Goldman Sachs-backed company operates hotel chains like Marriott, Hyatt and IHG in India.

Back Story: In March this year, the company re-filed its preliminary papers with SEBI to raise an IPO of around $120 million and an offer for sale of 9 million equity shares by existing shareholders.

Samhi had obtained the markets regulator approval in November 2019, to float the initial share-sale, but the company at that time did not go ahead with the launch.

Portfolio: As of February 28, 2023, Samhi has a portfolio of 3,839 rooms spread across 25 operating hotels in 12 Indian cities, including Bengaluru, Hyderabad, National Capital Region, Pune, Chennai, and Ahmedabad.

Tourism Ministry Partners With UNWTO to Unveil G20 Tourism and SDG Dashboard

The Ministry of Tourism and the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) have joined hands to launch a new tool to advance the contribution of tourism policies and initiatives towards the sustainable development goals (SDGs).

What the Dashboard Offers: 

• Serving as a comprehensive online public platform, it showcases best practices, case studies, and insights from G20 countries, all modeled for achieving the SDGs.

• The dashboard offers insights into sustainable tourism practices and also provides a platform for knowledge exchange, collaboration, and growth, the ministry said in a statement. 

• The UNWTO-G20 Dashboard includes over 20 case studies under the areas of green tourism, digitalization, skills, tourism micro, small and medium enterprises, and destination management. These will be updated on a regular basis during the year and provide a unique reference for tourism policies and initiatives in their contribution to the SDGs.

Kolkata-Pakyong Daily Flight Operations to Start on September 15

Daily flight operations from Kolkata to Pakyong in Sikkim will start from September 15.

Sikkim’s first greenfield airport at Pakyong has come back on the aviation map again after it resumed flight services to Delhi last week following an extended hiatus. 

Operations: The Delhi-Pakyong flight services have been operational since last Saturday. The flights will operate five days a week, except on Monday and Friday. 

The Kolkata-Pakyong flights will be operational on all days.

Airlines: Budget carrier SpiceJet, the only airline operating at the Pakyong airport, resumed services two and half months after it stalled operations from June 15 due to operational constraints. 

On the first day of its operation, the airport witnessed 52 arrival passengers from Delhi with six departure passengers. On Sunday, 44 passengers arrived with 31 departures. 

Delhi Hotel Prices Soar Ahead of G20 Summit

Average room rates for premier hotels in New Delhi are set to experience an uptick of over 200% between September 7 and 11, ranging from $216-$300, amid heightened demand driven by the arrival of thousands of delegates from 20 nations for the G20 Summit across September 9 and 10.

Rise in Average Daily Rate: The average daily rate, a metric used to measure room revenue, surged to $313 from September 7-11, a more than four-fold increase from the average $72 in the past year, according to RateGain’s latest insights.

Sharp Rise in Business Arrivals: RateGain’s Adara data reflects a 63% year-on-year rise in international flight arrivals at the Delhi airport for business purposes. There has also been an unprecedented rise in business arrivals from Riyadh, Dubai, and Doha.

Extended Stays: During the period, the average length of stay spikes to six days, considering hotels would be booked by teams and agencies coordinating the visits and arrangements during the event. The stay would otherwise hover around one day.

Air India to Induct Two A350 Planes This Year

Tata Group-owned Air India will induct two A350 aircraft this year  — A350-900 and A350-1000 — for which it has received aviation watchdog Directorate General of Civil Aviation’s approval. 

The airline expects to have six such Rolls Royce-powered planes in its fleet by the end of March 2024.

Current Fleet: Air India has a fleet of 126 planes, including 52 wide-body Boeing 787 and 777 aircraft.

Record Order: The carrier placed an order for 470 aircraft, including 40 A350-900/1000 planes.

Air India CEO and managing director Campbell Wilson had earlier said that a third of its wide-body fleet will also feature modern, plush seats and hi-tech inflight entertainment systems.