Peak tourist season: Now, vacations in Visakhapatnam easier on pocket

Visakhapatnam: With the peak tourist season drawing near, travel agents in Visakhapatnam are now busy designing tour packages. In the wake of the pandemic, tour packages have undergone significant changes this year.
The first thing on mind of travel agents is quality of hotels. Most travel agents are designing packages with star hotels to ensure that clients find accommodation where there is proper hygiene and Covid-19 norms are followed.
“In the wake of the pandemic, we are not sure about how many tourists would actually like to stay at budget hotels.That too, at a time when star hotels are offering rooms at lower rates this year,” said K Vijay Mohan, president, Tours and Travels Association of Andhra. A two-night three-day tour package will cost around Rs 8,000 per person, on twin sharing basis. This includes accommodation at a four-star hotel, breakfast, transfers and sightseeing. “In 2019, the same package would have cost no less than Rs 10,000 per person,” added Vijay Mohan.
Another important feature of Visakhapatnam tour packages this year is that travel agents are considering Araku Valley and Lambasingi for day-trips. Most packages do not include night-stays in these places.
This, according to Vijay Mohan, is because, “During peak season, accommodation in Lambasingi and Araku almost fill up with local travellers. Even if you manage to book an accommodation, we don’t think our guests will like the idea of staying overnight at a packed destination.”