India-Pak tension dents travel plans of vacationists

Prayagraj: The tension between India and Pakistan affected travel plans across the country, with the Prayagraj division of the North Central Railway witnessing a significant impact. In just two days, over 70,000 reserved train tickets were cancelled, resulting in refunds totalling around Rs 6 crore.

However, with India and Pakistan announcing ceasefire, travel industry is optimistic that normalcy would return soon.

According to Amit Kumar Singh, public relations officer of the Prayagraj division, as many as 20,458 reserved tickets were cancelled on May 7; 23,131 on May 8 and another 27,534 on May 9 were cancelled from different stations under the Prayagraj division of the North Central Railway (NCR). On May 9 alone, Rs 2,28,68,102 was refunded against cancellation of confirmed tickets.

Passengers are increasingly avoiding travel to border states like Rajasthan, Punjab, Jammu and Kashmir and Gujarat due to security concerns following Operation Sindoor in wake of the recent terrorist attack on tourists in Pahalgam. The cancellations were reported from major stations, including Prayagraj Junction, Kanpur, Fatehpur, Mirzapur, Etawah, Manikpur, Aligarh, and Tundla.

The impact of the conflict is not limited to domestic train travel. Tour packages for popular destinations in Himachal Pradesh, Ladakh and Jammu and Kashmir are also being cancelled. In the last two days alone, over 48 travellers from Prayagraj have withdrawn their bookings for domestic holidays as well as international destinations like Thailand, Maldives and Malaysia.

This has resulted in significant losses for travel agents, particularly those catering to summer vacation plans. Passengers are expressing unease, with many opting to cancel their trips. "I had to go on a pilgrimage to Maa Vaishno Devi after May 20, but I cancelled the ticket in view of the current situation," said Pratibha Singh of Salori.

Vivek Singh from Civil Lines echoed similar concerns, stating he had planned a family trip to Manali via Chandigarh but decided it was not safe to proceed. Tour operators confirm the trend, with Sandeep Mishra of Travels Safe saying many travellers initially diverted from Kashmir to other hill destinations. As the situation worsened, those bookings are being scrapped too.

"Earlier Kashmir packages were cancelled. Now it's Himachal, Ladakh, Uttarakhand and even international packages. Financially, we are hit hard," Mishra said, highlighting the significant impact on the travel industry.

The trend of cancelling train tickets is particularly pronounced on trains heading towards Delhi and border states like Haryana, Punjab, Jammu and Rajasthan. Although some trains still have available reservations, the number of ticket cancellations significantly outweighs new bookings.