As per the Ranthambore administration, the booking window for safaris scheduled from October 1 to December 31 this year was activated at 12 noon on August 1.
In the first two hours, around 40,000 tourists signed up, including roughly 14,000 foreign visitors.
Officials mentioned that a significant number of users accessed the official portal at the same time, which resulted in a considerable increase in web traffic. Nevertheless, the portal — along with its verification, booking processes, and live reporting systems — operated smoothly even during peak times.
Manas Singh, the Deputy Conservator of Forests at Ranthambore, highlighted that a noteworthy aspect of the new system was that seats remained available across various safari options even two hours post the booking opening.
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”Seats were still open for several dates, including peak seasons like Diwali and Christmas holidays. The real-time availability feature on the portal allowed tourists to conveniently select dates and safari options, enhancing transparency and user-friendliness,” he noted.
Despite high digital traffic, the system successfully identified and thwarted multiple cyberattack attempts and unauthorized activities, he added.
“During the booking process, around 20 lakh suspicious cyberattack attempts, over 150 questionable IP addresses, and more than two crore fake requests were blocked. Still, the portal functioned seamlessly throughout,” Singh stated. For the first time, international tourists were permitted to book safaris directly from their home countries via the official portal, which showed positive results on the inaugural day.
Foreign tourists comprised nearly 40% of the total registrations, with around 200 of them accessing the portal independently to finalize bookings.
Online reservations were made from countries such as the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, and the Netherlands.
The Ranthambore administration mentioned that the new digital system aims to enhance the booking experience, making it more transparent, straightforward, and fair for all tourists. They expressed optimism that this initiative would deliver a smoother, safer, and more efficient booking experience for the upcoming tourism season.
