Local and international travels pick up ahead of long weekend

With the long weekend ahead of the Independence Day, Bengalureans are set to travel, driving up bus prices to multiple destinations.

The Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) has added 165 special buses to handle the weekend rush. These buses are introduced on high-demand routes that have sold out online, and they come with a 20% fare hike. These have been added on the routes to Mangaluru, Kundapura, Puducherry, Davanagere, Thrissur, Trichy, Ballari, Chikkamagaluru, Hosapete, and more.

The special services will run on August 14, with most bookings made for Thursday night ahead of the long weekend. A KSRTC spokesperson told DH the surge is due to the extended break. “These are not organic travellers, they’re booking trips just because they have a long weekend off,” she said, adding that, unlike the Varamahalakshmi weekend, when the travel was low due to the pooja, bookings have sharply risen this week.

Private operators have also hiked prices for August 14. Fares have jumped from Rs 1,000- 1,300 to Rs 2,359 for Bengaluru–Chennai; Rs 1,600 - 2,000 to Rs 4,000 for Bengaluru–Goa; Rs 1,000 - 1,800 to Rs 2,100 for Bengaluru - Puducherry; and Rs 70 - 1,300 to Rs 2,000 for Bengaluru–Mangaluru.

The price surge is forcing many to either postpone or prepone their travels.

International travel

Many have clubbed the upcoming holidays with the Varamahalakshmi long weekend last week, said travel agents.

Travel agencies in the city saw a 15-20% increase in bookings this month due to the double long weekends, they told DH.

Bali in Indonesia and Vietnam were the most favoured destinations among Bengalureans, followed by
Bhutan. 

“The long weekends aided in booking international trips this year. Many used this opportunity to plan and book trips ahead of time. So far, for August, we booked around 150 trips to Vietnam and 80 to Bali. Enquiries for these two destinations have been constant over the past few months,” said Mohan Hegde, Manager at Nesara Tours.

Two other travel agencies saw around 20-30 bookings for Bhutan compared to only 10 around this time last year, and around 150 bookings to Vietnam, against 100-120 last year. However, the holiday rush did not have any significant impact on International flight prices.

Among destinations closer home, people in Bengaluru are keen on spiritual travel, share tour operators.

Packages to Shree Jagannatha Temple in Puri, Odisha and Shree Ram Temple in Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh remain the most popular.

While Goa remains a popular destination, Sikkim and Darjeeling have also caught the attention of travellers from the city.

“With people still wary of visiting Kashmir, they are choosing Sikkim and Darjeeling. For travel within India, 70% of our bookings this month included these two places,” said
Hegde.

Flight prices from Bengaluru to Goa on August 14 have shot up to Rs 8,500, compared to the usual average of Rs 2,500. On the same day, flights to Sikkim are Rs 2,500 costlier, at Rs 6,800.