Theme exotica

TRAVEL: States perk up their popular trails, map new ones to attract the evolved tourists.

Imagine a Delhi-Agra circuit which includes cruising along the river Yamuna (a cleansed one) and exploring all the monuments on the way right up to the splendid Taj Mahal in Agra. Exotic huh? Well, exotic is the theme that most states are working on as they revamp and map altogether new circuits to attract an increasing number of travellers looking for more than a plain vanilla holiday.

Take a look at the country's largest and most populous state "" Uttar Pradesh. It is working on a Sufi circuit, a Mahabharat circuit, the Dudhwa eco-tourism circuit, a Ram Van Gaman circuit (which covers the exile trail of Lord Rama) and even an exclusive circuit of places associated with the 1857 freedom struggle. And you thought that all Uttar Pradesh had was Agra's Taj Mahal!

Go down south and look at what Kerala is up to. It already has a pilgrimage circuit, an eco-tourism circuit and a backwaters circuit. It is now working on an adventure tourism circuit.

Kerala's director for tourism B Suman says that he is not averse to the idea of even trying a few "very niche" circuits "" one for birdwatchers and another for pachyderm aficionados, who will get to see how wild elephants are caught, tamed and cared for.

Once a circuit is finalised, work on the basic infrastructure along the way begins "" amenity centres with information counters, parking, clean toilets, cloak rooms, restaurants and souvenir shops, says Suman.

"Today's tourists are much more evolved," confirms Sunirmol Ghosh of Indo Asia Tours. There seem to be less and less of the traditional sightseeing kind of tourists and more of those who want to "experience" the destination through participatory activities.

So the tour operators improvise. "We take our clients on regular circuits but add some detours to include maybe a development project in a village along the way, or showcase conservation of some dying art in a region," says Ghosh. This creates a linkage which ensures that they keep coming back to India.

States like Madhya Pradesh are sticking to the tried and tested circuits "" like Gwalior-Shivpuri-Orchha-Khajuraho-Chitrakote and Indore-Ujjain-Omkareshwar-Maheshwar-Mandu "" though investments are being made to strengthen the circuits and create activities along the way, says Guru Chahal of MP Tourism.

Some recent additions include river rafting at Orchha and Shivpuri and water sports activities at Bhopal.

As more states work to create a better experience for visitors, India may manage to attract more than the 4 million odd tourists that make it to its shores annually.