Amid continued recovery from the Omicron wave, India’s hotel industry eclipsed pre-pandemic comparables in occupancy and average daily rate (ADR) for three consecutive days during the second week of April, according to preliminary data from STR.

The three days (16 to 18 April) were the first of 2022, with both occupancy and ADR above 2019 levels in India. When using a running 7-day average, occupancy and ADR have been above 90% of pre-pandemic comparables since late March. India recorded its highest ADR index at 106% of 2019 comparable.

Occupancy surpassed pre-pandemic levels earlier, reaching as high as 109% of the corresponding 2019 level on 25 March. “With the Omicron wave behind us, traveller confidence has grown significantly, and leisure destinations have continued their momentum from the prior months,” said STR’s regional director – Pacific, Japan & Central South Asia Matthew Burke. “Select leisure markets such as Himachal Pradesh, Goa, and Uttarakhand have seen significant occupancy levels throughout 2022, most times exceeding pre-pandemic levels.

He noted that “business demand, which was limited after the Delta wave, has shown significant improvement post-Omicron with momentum continuing through April. While there have been early signs of increased COVID cases across some Indian markets, the country’s hotels have shown resilience thus far. Recovery from each wave has been better than the previous, and we expect that trend to continue.”