While relaxations in the lockdown enabled people to travel, the concept of ‘holiday homes’, apparently on the verge of extinction beforehand, has resurrected amid the pandemic. Further inflaming it is the traction of ‘work from home’ in the past eight months, and the working class also preferred to spend quality time with their families at these vacation rentals.

Aditya Kushwaha, CEO and director, Axis Ecorp, one of the fastest-growing real estate companies in the country, focused on premium developments in holiday homes, said, “Call it the pandemic treat or restricted foreign travel, the concept of a holiday home or a second home has gained widespread acceptance. With most of the corporate professionals working from home, geography is no longer a constraint. The need for a perfect balance between work and personal life has fuelled the concept of a weekend retreat. From the investment perspective, second homes in non-metro cities are a relatively safe investment option. As consumers are keenly taking interests in spending their recreational time in holiday homes, the NRI belt, particularly from the state has also shown an inclination towards making investments.”

These properties can either be rented out to homestays or for tourism businesses. The investors are salivating over the booming market promising an assured and stable source of income. As per the present statistics, nearly 30 percent of Punjabis are not only showing interest in investing in but are also consuming them actively.

Nitin Kumar (31), a resident, who works in an MNC, moved back to his hometown in the last week of March when the nationwide lockdown happened, said, “As the job continuation became the new normal, the location didn’t act as a constraint, hence after the announcement of Unlock-1, I decided to go out and spend a few weeks in hills. Himachal is the closest hill station, I booked a holiday home there to spend some time with my family. Contrary to the hotels that could be the riskier places amid Covid threat, holiday homes provide a safer environment.”

An operator at A-Z tour and travel agency in the city also stated that in the past two months more queries were received for outstation travel, with the ‘special mention of private shelters’. The industry is slowly coming back on track with the assurance of safety measures to the travelers.

Considering situations like home quarantine, distancing, health, hygiene, safety, and comfort in one space, people have also realized the importance of larger and self-sustained communities, added Lalit Khanna, a city-based investor.

Meanwhile, Kushwaha explained that realizing the trend of the vacation homes, Axis Ecorp, besides hill stations has also introduced a new project for contribution to create, construct and manage world-class lifestyles like Axis Blues, Axis Yog Villas, and Axis Lake City in Goa territory and Axis KNCJ in Darjeeling.