Online travel portal Expedia India has some great news for those who are thinking of heading to offbeat travel destinations. Over 30 percent of Indian travellers are heading to offbeat destinations this year. This is a ten percent rise as compared to last year.
Those who have ample time and money to spare are thinking of heading to locations within Africa, Latin America and Europe. Vikram Malhi, the country head for Expedia points out that places within Southeast Asia that are on the radar of tourists includeKrabi in Thailand, Ho Chi Minh in Vietnam and Jhor Bahru in Malaysia.
Indian who were earlier opting for Europe only in large numbers have lately started exploring Greece and Turkey? President of Yatra.com, Sharat Dhall too agrees with Vikram Malhi and points out that offbeat destinations like South Africa and Peru which were never on radar of Indian travellers are getting increasing queries.
When it comes to domestic destinations, travellers are opting for hill stations but are also ensuing that the destinations are indeed offbeat. Richa Goyal Sikri from STC travel group points out that hill stations like Ranikhet, Shogi and Chail in Northern India, Shillong and Tawang in North East and Wayanad in the South are generating interest lately. An obvious reason for this assumption is that popular hill stations are attracting increasing rush with every passing year and the real objective of a relaxing holiday is not achievable at these places.
The living standards of Indian families have become better with time and they can think of holidaying more often. This also has prompted Indians to choose offbeat destinations more often. Some people try experimenting with the concept of holidays and head to key tourist locations also going to offbeat destinations simultaneously.
Travelling is becoming a routine activity with Indian families and is no longer considered a luxury. Couples who have no children experiment more with this concept of heading to offbeat locations and are seen more often spending some relaxing moments, helping know each other better.
Discounts too play its part and travel agents realizing this urge of Indian travellers to head to offbeat locations are offering worthy discounts. With weekend travel gaining popularity among working couples, future seems bright for everyone in the business. Budgets vary between Rs 5,000 and 30,000 for domestic travel and 35,000 to 2 lakh for those thinking of heading to international offbeat destinations.
The statistics released by Ministry of Tourism are encouraging too. While the number of tourists who travelled overseas in 1991 was 1.9 millions, the figure rose to 12.99 million by 2010. This amounts to a compound annual growth of 10.5 percent which is a comfortable scenario, given the booming travel industry in India.
Similarly, the number of departures for 2010 showed a growth of nine percent over 2009. This is a considerable rise as compared to 2008 when the growth was only 1.8 percent.
Explore some offbeat destinations this summer and bring happiness in lives of those who matter to you.
