16 May,2011 08:21 AM IST | | Surender Sharma
Experts say people who use their own vehicles to visit spots around the city will now think twice
The hike in petrol prices by five rupees per litre and the impending diesel hike could prove to be a big dampener for weekend travellers. Travel agents say, though the effect on the tourism sector may not be immediate as summer season bookings were made prior to the hike, but the backbone of domestic tourism in India, which provides round the year business to the industry, is going to see an impact.
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In India, out of the 675 million travellers per year, only around 5.5 millionu00a0u00a0 are foreign tourists.
Tarun Yadav, who runs a travel firm Global Passages said: "The travels of chardham and some other locations are going for a toss this season. Tourism agencies will increase the cost which will ultimately get passed down to the tourist. Worst affected will be weekend travels, where people use their own cars."
Empty pockets
"Obviously people will not be able to afford travels in this scenario when their major savings are getting absorbed in running their homes," said Gaur Kanjhi Lal, a member of India Association of Tour Operators (IATO).
"People can afford high-end cars these days and many plan weekend travels to nearby tourist destinations. Now, these plans are going to be affected badly," Lal added.
Even more important trips are being put on hold. Gaurav Singhal, a marketing professional who got married recently, said: "I was planning to go to some hill station. Now I will have to rethink about my travel plan as I would end up spending a large sum of money on transportation only."
Those in the travel industry say they will have to pass on the burden to the consumers.u00a0"Certainly it is going to affect everybody. It is not only about petrol price. The government has imposed 5 per cent taxes on hotels recently. But despite all this the season so far was good. But the costs of transportation that have increased due to hiked fuel prices, will have to passed on to the customers," said Sarabjit Singh, member of Indian Tourist Transporters Association (ITTA).
