Thousands of registrations in two hours as advance safari booking opens in Ranthambore (Photo: Ranthambore National Park)
Advance safari bookings for the upcoming tourism season at Ranthambore Tiger Reserve, a major wildlife sanctuary and one of India’s most famous tiger habitats in Rajasthan, have witnessed an overwhelming response, with nearly 40,000 domestic and international tourists registering within two hours of the booking window opening on August 1, highlighting robust demand for one of India’s leading wildlife destinations.
According to the Ranthambore administration, around 40,000 persons registered within the first two hours, including nearly 14,000 foreign visitors.
Officials says that the official portal experienced a sharp surge in traffic as thousands of users accessed it simultaneously. Despite the heavy demand, the portal, verification process, booking system and live reporting mechanisms functioned smoothly throughout the peak booking period.
Manas Singh
According to Manas Singh, Deputy Conservator of Forests, Ranthambore, one of the key features of the upgraded digital booking system was that safari seats remained available across multiple categories even two hours after bookings opened.
“Seats were still available for several dates, including peak periods such as Diwali and Christmas holidays. Real-time seat availability on the portal enabled tourists to choose dates and safari options conveniently, making the process more transparent and user-friendly,” says Singh.
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The administration also reported that the booking platform successfully withstood significant cyber threats during the launch period. Around 2 million suspicious cyberattack attempts, more than 150 suspicious IP addresses and over 20 million fake requests were detected and blocked without disrupting the booking process.
For the first time, international visitors were able to directly book safaris through the official portal from their home countries. The initiative received an encouraging response on its first day, with foreign tourists accounting for nearly 40 pc of total bookings and around 200 international visitors independently completing reservations online.
Bookings were made from several overseas markets, including the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and the Netherlands.
The Ranthambore administration said the new digital booking system has been introduced to make safari reservations more transparent, simple and equitable for all visitors, while ensuring a smoother, safer and more efficient booking experience for the upcoming tourism season.
