Comments
Summer travellers seem to prefer holidaying in neighbouring South-East Asia compared to Europe. Travel agents say that relatively newer travel destinations such as Vietnam and Cambodia are becoming popular among Indians.
Sunil Hasija, Executive Director, TUI India, a travel agency, said, there has been a drop in bookings for the west-bound travel (Europe and the US) due to rising value of the dollar and higher air fare. Average holiday spends have taken a 10 per cent hit after a drop in long-haul bookings, according to industry estimates.
Online portal Yatra.com saw a 70 per cent rise in bookings to South-East Asia this year. Sharat Dhall, COO, Yatra.com , said: “We have done ten times more bookings for South-East Asia compared to Europe.” The average airfares to Europe have gone up by 10 per cent this year. For instance, a return fare from Europe last year was about Rs 38,000, this year it is around Rs 43,000.
“Travel to South-East Asia costs just half that. In fact, a destination like Thailand competes with domestic travel spots as it is a much cheaper option,” Dhall added. Yatra’s holiday package for Thailand — that includes return fare with a four nights stay — is priced at about Rs 20,000.
Tourism Authority of Thailand expects at least 1.3 million Indian travellers to visit the country in 2013.
To cash in on this demand, south-east airline AirAsia has tied up with Tourism Authority of Thailand and is offering cheap fares and discounts in over 15,000 shops and restaurants in Thailand.
As a part of the campaign, one-way tickets from Chennai and Kolkata to Bangkok are going for Rs 3,500 and Rs 5,000, respectively. The offer is valid till May 5 and for travel between July and October-end. Earlier, Singapore-based Tiger Airways offered flights to Singapore from Chennai, Kochi, Bangalore, Hyderabad Thiruvananthapuram and Tiruchirapalli at Rs 2,700 for travel between May 1 and December 15.
In the last seven years (2004-2011), the number of Indian tourists’ arrival into Singapore increased from 4.7 lakh to 8.7 lakh and is expected to touch one million soon. Every week, 430 flights were operated by eight carriers on the Indian-Singapore sector with a seating capacity of 40,000.
> nivedita.ganguly@thehindu.co.in
Comments
Comments
Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.
We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of TheHindu Businessline and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.