With thousands of tourists crowding the famous hills of Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand to escape from the monotonous urban life that the 2nd wave of the coronavirus lockdown brought forth, the Union Health Ministry has warned against a particular phenomenon called “revenge travel”. More than 5 lakh tourists headed to Himachal and Uttarakhand after the Covid norms were relaxed while experts constantly wared that the 2nd wave of Covid-19 is not over.
There is a possible fear of a 3rd wave as well. But from pictures and videos of tourists flocking to the hills it appears that the fear of contracting the deadly virus has somehow reduced after the Covid numbers dropped in June. Social distancing became a foreign concept as people were spotted roaming around popular tourist destinations in the hills.
What Is Revenge Travel?
Revenge travel or tourism refers to the phenomenon wherein people wish to break free from the mundane routine that has caused the “new normal” to develop in the wake of the coronavirus crisis. It stems from a circumstance that has been described as exhaustion or “lockdown fatigue” that escalates on account of monotony.
In simple words, people are tired of following the same routine day after day, working from home, unable to step out in the fear of contracting coronavirus. It understandably has led to a sort of fatigue that makes them want to escape to the hills or other tourist destinations, a concept, also known as revenge travel.
This particular phrase occupied top spots on the search trends after Health Secretary (MoHFW) Lav Agarwal used “revenge travel” during one of his speeches last week and said that it is dangerous.
Situation In Himachal Pradesh
After the Himachal Pradesh government relaxed Covid-19 related restrictions, including the mandatory RT-PCR test, thousands of tourists headed to the hills, also to escape the scorching heat in the plains. Hotel occupancy in major tourist destinations, including Shimla, Manali, and Dharamshala, is full. Other tourists also headed to less popular destinations to look for accommodation, and also to avoid the crowd. Pictures of maskless tourists roaming around Himachal also went viral on social media.
Covid-19 Numbers
Covid numbers in India have declined over the past month but daily detection of fresh cases in India has remained in the range of 35000 - 40,000 most days. The government’s Covid-19 task force head VK Paul has warned of another explosion of the coronavirus cases in India if the situation is not brought under control.
So are you also one of those who’s waiting to head to the mountains the first chance you get or do you caution people to be careful as long as the Covid-19 remains prevalent in the country? Tell us in the comments section below and stay tuned to the Trainman Blog to know all the latest updates on Railways and Covid-19. For your one-stop solution, book your train and flight tickets through the Trainman app. Download the Trainman app and check PNR Status of the booked ticket, Seat Availability, Running Status and many such exciting features.
Copyright © Trainman, 2014-22
