Many 'escape' to beaches, hills as toxic air blankets metros

Worsening air quality in metros across the country has triggered a new trend of 'escape travel' according to online hotel and flight booking platforms, that witnessed a surge in travellers moving from cities to remote hill stations and beach-side resorts.

Aloke Bajpai, group CEO and co-founder at Ixigo, told Economic Times that beach locations like Goa and the Andamans have become favourite destinations for "escape tourism" as people longed to evade the toxic air in the metropolises.

Many were relieved to venture out in the open after spending over a year at home due to Covid-19. But at the outset of the winter, air pollution in metros worsened, particularly in Delhi which was forced to shut schools and advised people to work from home.

Executives from travel platforms reported a surge in travellers from Delhi, which has struggled to cope with bad air quality year after year. "Currently bookings for the third week of November from Delhi are up 50 per cent compared to leisure bookings made prior to Diwali," MakeMyTrip COO Vipul Prakash told the publication.

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Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Bengaluru are some of the cities people are trying to 'escape' from.

Hill stations and beaches in proximity to these cities have reportedly witnessed demand on the platforms. On Zostel, for instance, Mukteshwar in Uttarakhand, Shangarh and Burwa and Chitkul in Himachal Pradesh were some of the favourite sports. Kolad and Lonavala in Maharashtra, Gokarna and Coorg in Karnataka, and Wayanad in Kerala were some of the others.

Pranav Maheshwari, co-founder at Vista Rooms, is quoted as saying in the report that patrons have been requesting to extend their stays at the accommodation. He said travellers typically would stay for 4-5 days but now they are extending their stay to 10-12 days, a trend mostly observed in travelers from Delhi and Maharashtra.

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