Indian tourists pack bags for exotic, offbeat locales

Planning a holiday trip during this winter break? Well, forget it. You’re most likely to be greeted by a ‘Sold Out’ sign instead of a welcome drink. From beaches to mountains, most hotels are putting away their check-in register as they don’t have any more rooms to offer.

All domestic low-cost carriers (LCCs) are also expecting 100% load factor around Christmas and New Year’s eve. Many airlines are deploying bigger aircraft on the India sector during the winter months around Christmas and New Year.

Amidst all this, the tourism industry is spotting two new trends — one is an unprecedented rise in demand for domestic destinations such as Kerala, Himachal and Uttarakhand in the long haul segment, and Jaipur, Agra, Shimla, Manali and Mussoorie for those wanting to travel short distances. And two, a growing demand for Europe to experience a White Christmas.

M Shervani, CEO, Star Hotels and board member, FHRAI, agrees. “As the holiday period in India is short, most travellers within the country prefer to go to the hills. Those wanting to go abroad prefer short-haul trip to South-east Asia,” he says.

Economic Times, India