Maharashtra hotels record a surge in bookings

A surge in hotel bookings has been recorded in many tourist destinations across Maharashtra, seen as a silver lining to a bleak year for hospitality. Maharashtra has been one of the worst-hit states by COVID-19 with Mumbai recording a massive high number of COVID positive cases ever since the pandemic spread. The hospitality industry in the city as well the whole state has been badly-hit, and the current surge is seen as a respite to the flailing industry.

The numbers are backed by the Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation (MTDC), with its officials stating that hotel bookings are picking pace at all its popular resorts. Some of the main destinations that are seeing a surge are Ganpatipule, Mahabaleshwar, Karla, Matheran and around. It has been reported that MTDC-run properties at these destinations are all booked for the upcoming Christmas and New Year celebrations.
MDTC General Manager Dinesh Kamble told TOI that, “Our resorts at most locations in the state are fully booked for Christmas and New Year. Bookings began picking up from November and currently online slots are full for many MTDC hotels during the long Christmas weekend. Even resorts are cent per cent booked over the weekends."

Another fact that has come to the fore is that hotels in cities are yet to see a surge; the current trend signals that tourists are choosing to vacation in offbeat locations, including rural areas, since a number of cities have been hotspots for the COVID virus previously.