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Hotel Marketing Consultants have a tough job on hand post corona period because the coronavirus outbreak has suddenly brought the whole tourism industry to a standstill not only in India but across the globe. All countries are doing their bit to contain the virus spread and India with its limited resources has been quite successful in restricting the spread to few clusters in India.  

The Indian government might be planning to adopt a staggered approach of lifting the lockdown with travel restrictions limited only to COVID-19 clusters across India. The fall out of this approach might be that Domestic Tourism which is right at the gate of Big Domestic Tourism Season might be see an instant boost. It’s worthy to note that baring few places most of the Summer Travel Destinations are Corona Free or the cases are contained well, a comforting factor for Indian Traveller. 

We have listed down Destinations that might see an immediate movement of travelers once the lockdown is over:

1. Goa
2. Leh
3. Sasan Gir
4. Manali
5. Mahabaleshwar
6. Panchgani
7. Mount Abu
8. Panchgani
9. Dharamshala
10. Shimla
11. Mussoorie
12. Nainital
13. Ooty
14. Kodaikanal
15. Pushkar
16. Udaipur
17. Kumbhalgarh
18. Munnar
19. Gangtok
20. Matheran

MarketMyHotel.in’s Hotel Marketing Consultants have considered the following factors while shortlisting the destinations, all or some factors may apply to every destination: 

1. Season Time: We have shortlisted destinations that normally expect good flow of traffic during the summer months. We are assuming that the moment lockdown is over such destinations will be preferred destinations among Indian Travel, while planning their trip.
2. Corona infection cases in Destination: We have taken into account no. of corona infection cases in these destinations and growth patterns. Most of the destinations shortlisted have zero or very low no. of cases of corona infections. The growth in no. of cases is also limited creating a positive image in the minds of potential travelers. 
3. Source Market proximity: Most of the shortlisted destinations have a source market within a driving distance/radius of 500 km and therefore it’s easier to plan and execute travel within a short time frame. People can drive on their own and therefore are less likely to be exposed to crowded places.  
4. Demographic Profile of Source Market: It’s important to note the demographic profile of travelers visiting the shortlisted destinations. These are basically Millenials, nuclear families, or what we call FIT (Free Independent Traveller) who voluntarily locked themselves up in their 1200 sqft flat for quite some time. A forced lockdown has created and augmented the unfelt need for travel and people want to travel now.
5. Regulatory factors: Demand for destinations like Daman & Diu, Mount Abu, Udaipur or Kumbhalgarh are fuelled by regulatory factors also. Gujarat has a prohibition act in the place and so a lot of people staying in Gujarat frequently visit these places for chilling out. We expect this trend to continue once the lockdown is over.

According to the FICCI report, the tourism sector generated 247.3 billion dollars (about Rs 16.9 lakh crore) in 2018, marking a growth of 6.7 percent and contributing 9.2 percent to the gross domestic product (GDP).  Unlike many international destinations that largely depend on the global tourist movement, Indian tourism demand is fuelled by Indians and therefore we will not have to wait for other countries to contain the Corona Pandemic. We also foresee Boutique properties, Small guest houses and Homestays having better prospects as travelers will avoid crowded places. We are keeping our fingers crossed that this minor hiccup will be over soon and India will be back on its course of becoming a Tourism Superpower.