JAIPUR: November and December so far have been happy months of hospitality in Rajasthan. Weddings and tourists rush have brought back the similes that the Covid pandemic had wiped out. But the industry is not out of woods as Omicron has again made the industry jittery.
UB Srivastava, president of United Hoteliers of Udaipur, said, “The past two months have been good for the industry that suffered the most during the pandemic. Currently, the occupancy in Udaipur market has risen to over 60% and will go up to 80% by the end of the month.”
But Srivastava said the industry is keeping its fingers crossed given the emergence of Omicron. “If there are no surprises from Covid front, the industry should be on its way to normalcy. Rates in city hotels are yet to reach pre-Covid levels. There are fixed costs like electricity, and manpower. The current trend needs to continue for the industry come out of the pandemic woes.”
In Jaipur too, the city hotels are unable to raise the rates to the extent Resorts on the city outskirts have done. While week-ends are going full, the weekday occupancy still a concern.
Kuldeep Singh Chandela, president of Hotels and Restaurants Association of Rajasthan, said, “Weekday occupancies in city hotels are about 50-60%. This will go up significantly as we enter the last of the month. But the rates are still below the pre-Covid levels unlike resorts. Tariffs in some resorts have gone past the pre-Covid levels by 10-15%.”
Tourism industry in Jaisalmer is almost back to normal. Besides ther hotels, the tents in Sam dunes and Khuri are receiving good number of tourists.
Vikram Singh Bhati, a hotelier who runs tents as well and the chairman of INTACH-Jaisalmer, said, “The occupancy in hotels and rents have increased significantly, near the pre-Covid levels. Similarly, the rates have improved proportionately.”
Jaisalmer tourism industry was one of the hard-hit markets during the pandemic. After the lockdown was lifted, tourists drive in to border destinations like Mount Abu, Udaipur, Jaipur, Pushkar and Alwar received week-end tourists after, but Jaisalmer did not benefit because of the distance.
