New Delhi, Oct 04: A happy combination of bargain holidays, school vacations and extended weekends has got Indians heading off to holiday in destinations in and around India.
Flights to Singapore, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Nepal are going full, and industry people say SARS is just a bad memory and there’s a 10-12 per cent increase in travel over the same period last year.
"India is becoming a big customer base for these countries. On the August 15 weekend, Southeast Asia was the preferred destination," says Amadeus India CEO Ankur Bhatia.
“Young executives are taking advantage of these packages to travel abroad. The deals are competitive and the destinations are great shopping places," says Balbir Mayal, vice-president, Travel Agents Association of India.
Time-poor and cash-rich Indians are expected to make a dash to short haul destinations on the Diwali and Republic Day weekends.
Southeast Asian countries had floated discounted packages post-SARS to overcome the slump. Moreover, economy class fares to these destinations have not been revised for the past two to three years.
Domestic travel isn’t far behind. Apex fares have led to a surge in bookings to Kerala, Goa and Rajasthan. Jet Airways and Indian Airlines have floated attractive packages to these destinations.
"Weekend travel has picked up during the last two months and is likely to continue. Indians like to club holidays with their weekends and avail of an extended break from work," says Himmat Anand, CEO, Sita Travels.