Oscar effect: Search for Kolkata hotels up post ‘Lion’ release

‘City of Joy’ Kolkata has recorded a 70 per cent rise in hotel searches on accommodation booking website Hotels.Com, thanks to Oscar nomination to film “Lion”, extensively shot in the West Bengal capital.
“We have seen strong increases in searches for hotels in Oscar nominated film locations as vacationers are inspired to experience these destinations for themselves. The films have clearly captured the hearts and imaginations of people across the world,” Amit Agarwal, Marketing- India & South-East Asia at Hotels.Com, said in a release issued here.
Less-travelled international destinations are benefiting from the Oscar’s effect too, with a surge of about 70 per cent in searches globally for hotels in the ‘City of Joy’ since the nomination of film “Lion”, which features actor Dev Patel.
These data are based on comparing searches made on February 21, 2017 on Hotels.Com with searches made on January 26, 2016 on Hotels.Com.
These dates coincide with the time when the Oscar …