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    Hotel tariffs get dearer, rooms scarcer in Uttar Pradesh

    Synopsis

    The Kumbh Mela, the world’s largest religious gathering, started on January 14 and will go on till March 4.

    ET Bureau
    NEW DELHIThe ongoing Kumbh Mela in Prayagraj and the three-day Pravasi Bharatiya Divas convention to be held in Varanasi from January 21 have led to a shortage of rooms and skyrocketing hotel tariffs in Uttar Pradesh’s main cities of Lucknow and Varanasi.

    Travel operators and hotel chains said that due to the shortage of quality hotels in Prayagraj, travellers and pilgrims are staying in Lucknow, 200 km away, and Varanasi, about 125 km away, and travelling to the venue of the Kumbh Mela to take a holy dip. About 20 million devotees took the holy dip in Prayagraj on Tuesday, the day the Kumbh Mela started, according to official estimates.

    “There is an unprecedented rush for the Kumbh Mela and this has led to a shortage of rooms and an uptick in hotel tariffs in cities like Lucknow and Varanasi,” said Karan Anand, head of relationships at Cox & Kings. “Inventory in places such as Lucknow and Varanasi was always limited and the Kumbh rush has skewed the situation further.”

    The Kumbh Mela, the world’s largest religious gathering, started on January 14 and will go on till March 4. The religious pilgrimage is celebrated four times over a 12-year period: along the Ganga river at Haridwar in Uttarakhand, the Shipra river at Ujjain in Madhya Pradesh, the Godavari river at Nashik in Maharashtra and at the confluence of the Ganga, Yamuna and the mythical Sarasvati river in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh.

    Hotel tariffs in Varanasi have more than doubled in some cases, while budget hotels in Prayagraj, earlier available for about Rs 2,000-3,000 in December, have escalated to about Rs 15,000 ($210) per night, according to online travel marketplace ixigo.

    Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the convention of the 15th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas in Varanasi on January 22, with Mauritius Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth the chief guest. The convention is held to acknowledge the achievements and contribution of Indians overseas. Participants at the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas would also be taken to Prayagraj on day 4, January 24, to experience the Kumbh Mela.

    “There is a definite increase in traffic in neighbouring cities like Varanasi, Agra and Lucknow as Kumbh pilgrims are using the opportunity to explore more places around the congregation venue. Our daily room nights have more than doubled owing to heavy inflow of pilgrims and visitors for Kumbh and it is likely to go up further in the coming days,” said Parikshit Choudhury, chief business officer at travel portal MakeMyTrip.

    For hotel chain Accor's Novotel Lucknow in Gomti Nagar, occupancy and average daily rates have grown by 20% compared to the previous few months. "Kumbh Mela is a demand generator not only in Lucknow but also at our hotels in Delhi. That’s not all, pre-post tours demand has also been noticed for Jaipur, Goa and Agra," said Arif Patel, VP, sales, marketing, distribution and loyalty at Accor Hotels for India and South Asia.

    Treebo Hotels is expecting a 70% jump in business in Varanasi in the week of 21-27 January due to Pravasi Bharatiya Divas compared to the rest of the month.

    According to Kapil Goswamy, managing director at BigBreaks.com, with new airway connectivity and better facilities this year, the Kumbh Mela is not just about repentance and atonement.
    “Add-ons like luxury tents and adventure water sports at the sector 18 mela ground are attracting more and more people to Prayagraj… Room tariffs have seen a 100% increase with effect from January 1 till the Kumbh Mela lasts,” he added.

    The UP tourism department has planned water sports and other adventure activities at the Arail mela ground to attract tourists. The activities include hot air balloon rides, para-sailing, water scooter rides and water zorbing.


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