Stranded fliers cause 10% rise in hotel prices

New Delhi: As forecasters said the haze over Europe will stay for five more days, stranded passengers have caused hotel rates in New Delhi and Mumbai to climb 10 per cent. Travellers in large numbers have cancelled their tickets on flights to Europe, USA and Canada, rather than extend them to a later date.
STIC Travel Group Chairman Subhash Goyal said the rates would have climbed further had the arrival of tourists from the West not been hit by the haze. “So the increase is not very steep,” said he. Inbound travel, some experts said, could be down as much as 10 per cent. A Cox & Kings spokesperson said hotel rates have risen over 5 per cent for new bookings. Hotels in Beijing and Singapore are also straining to accommodate thousands of stranded passengers.
“This is the worst-ever air space closure in Europe. The situation is going to remain the same over the weekend. Around 30 per cent of travellers from India go to Europe and America, and most of them are cancelling for now,” said Amadeus India Managing Director Ankur Bhatia, an airline ticketing system provider.
18/04/10 Business Standard

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Categories: Indian Aviation- In General Apr 2010