GUWAHATI: Thanks to a growing tribe of travel-happy youngsters with disposable incomes and operators offering lucrative group and customized tour packages, Guwahati has begun to see beyond the blue hills of Cherrapunjee and Shillong. Holiday destinations are no longer just local, but also global.
A travel agent in the city said most bookings for this season are for exotic locales, as in South Africa, New Zealand, French Polynesia, Seychelles, Mauritius and Canada. Closer home, it’s Bangkok, Egypt, Singapore and Kuala Lampur.
The presence of international travel companies has further whetted wanderlust. Online travel portals and discounted fares from airlines have also been incentives. “The thirst for going abroad for vacations has definitely increased. First-time overseas visitors most often opt for Southeast Asia. The rates for packages depend on the choice of destinations,” said Shubham Sarawgi, CEO, NCS Travels and Tours Private Limited, adding that they get clients for both domestic and international circuits.
“On a daily basis we receive about five calls wanting to know about our packages. As of now, we have booked around 80 passengers for this season. A trip to Canada costs around Rs 1,80,000 per person. From May, we are providing group packages to Thailand for Rs 25,000, Europe for Rs 1,50,000 and Macau for Rs 75,000 and Singapore for Rs 55,000,” added Sarawgi.
“I travelled to Egypt two years ago and last year I went to Australia. It was a package tour. I had to pay around Rs 2 lakh for the Australia package,” said Deepali Das Bhuyan, an avid traveller.
Most travellers look up the internet for prospective destinations, read up reviews and then make queries with local tour operators. “It is now a common thing for people to holiday abroad. New Zealand is expensive. We have a tie-up with a popular travel companies and provide package tours. Earlier, the retired and the rich would only holiday abroad but now people earn more and they can afford to holiday abroad,” said Pradip Baruah, senior manager of Jungle Travels India.
He said even honeymooners are opting for overseas destinations. Australia and New Zealand are now hotspots for newlyweds. “Earlier, the cherished destinations for honeymooners would be either sea sides or hill stations in India. But now the trend is to look for a vacation outside the Indian shores,” said a tour operator.
Overseas destinations are hot this summer
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