JOIN USWith everyone set to welcome 2010 with a bang, international destinations seem to have taken preference over domestic holiday favourites, according to Anand Rajpurohit, Head (Tours), viaworld.in, an online travel and holiday portal.
“Goa, which used to be the hot favourite in the domestic circuit for years, has seen a dip due to the recent rape and molestation incidents,” said Rajpurohit. Booking trends in the City clearly point out to holiday travelers now preferring Kathmandu in Nepal, famous for its temples and casinos. But, choice of locations are different, if it is a single traveller or a family. Package tours continue to attract the budget as well as the niche traveller, he said.
Another IATA recognised travel and tour operator in the City said the cost factor was key to planning by single tourists and couples who plan on packages to destinations in South-East Asia as they are available for anything between Rs 15,000 to 40,000 for a four-five day package.
“Classic destinations such as Maldives, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Hong Kong, Macau and Bangkok are favourites for single men, while families usually prefer only Singapore, and Thailand. Sri Lanka as a destination is yet to catch on as a holiday favourite, with the war ending recently,” said an executive at a leading travel agency here. However, luxury and niche destinations viz, Switzerland, the French Riviera and Dubai have failed to attract the average holiday planner, due to high budgets (A package to Switzerland and Europe could cost anywhere between Rs 1.5 to 1.7 lakh or more).
Air traffic sluggish at BIAL
Meanwhile, sources at the Bengaluru International Airport Limited (BIAL) said the weekend has seen light volumes on both the domestic and international sectors.
“Most bookings for the long Christmas and New Year weekend were planned well in advance, days before the 25th. So, the period from 26th to the 1st is usually lean. However, we anticipate a 100 per cent load factor on incoming flights from the 2nd to 5th of January, 2010. There has been no significant increase to speak of. The leisure rush is anticipated, but the peak period is over. The airport saw 95 percent load factor on most domestic and international flights” observed a BIAL official.