Adventure breaks

TOURISM: The Indian traveller is headed new places for new things.

Indians are getting adventurous. They are not only opting for offbeat destinations this summer, but are also looking at innovative self-drive and soft-adventure holidays.

Take a look at the destinations first. Urrshila A Kerkar, CEO, Cox & Kings India, says that apart from France, Switzerland and Austria, destinations like Egypt, Greece, Cyprus and Turkey are also getting popular in India.

For Pegasus Travels & Tours based in Chennai, new destinations include Egypt, Kenya, Tanzania, South Africa and New Zealand.

"The first-time traveller is looking at destinations like Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and Mauritius (8 nights/ 9 days). Travellers from the upper middle income group are looking at multiple destinations in Europe (14 nights/15 days), while the higher end are looking at Kenya, Tanzania, South Africa, Egypt, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Australia and New Zealand covering (9 nights/10 days)," explains P Raghunath, Pegasus executive director.

According to him, the new destinations in the coming years are going to be Brazil, Argentina and Peru, though growth will depend on competitive airfares to these destinations.

The opening of newer international gateways in India, like Ahmedabad, Amritsar, Pune and Nagpur, is creating a fresh market segment from tier-II cities. This, coupled with the fantastic growth from regular markets, is attracting more national tourism organisations (NTOs) from across the globe.

The last two years have seen some really aggressive marketing by NTOs like Switzerland, Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong, Thailand, UK. Many others like Korea, Kenya, Egypt, Bali and Spain have entered the Indian market to woo travellers.

This summer, says Subhash Goyal, chairman, STIC Travels, people are travelling to Bangkok, Singapore, Malaysia, Sri Lanka; and even Nepal is back on the tourism scene in the last one month.

China, he exclaims, should be popular in India soon, along with offbeat destinations like Tunisia and Turkey. Alaskan and Mediterranean cruises are also getting good business from India.

NTOs are jubiliant with their progress in India. Ritu Sharma, country manager, Switzerland Tourism, is upbeat about the 22 per cent increase in visa figures for January-April this year over the same period last year.

Overnights to Switzerland are also increasing and the interest in the country is not just limited to Lucerne and Interlaken anymore.

New destinations like Zermatte, Lausanne and Montreux are getting popular. She explains that Indians are now going for more niche products "" maybe a golf or a wellness holiday or soft adventure.

VisitBritain, the UK's marketing body, reports similar excitement. There has been a 9 per cent growth in the figure from India in the first three months this year. And it's not just London anymore.

Indians are exploring Scotland, Wales and the rest. Also emerging: self-drive holidays in the UK and New Zealand (yes, the Indian driving license is valid in these countries).