With improved salary packages, destinations like Dubai, Maldives, Singapore and Sri Lanka have become popular for weekend travel.
KOLKATA: Do weekend travel jaunts conjure up visions of Lonavala from Mumbai, Shantiniketan from Kolkata or even a Delhi-Nainital sortie?
Not any more. Because, come Fridays and Indians are winging overseas for quick getaway options.
Typically, holiday-makers are adding a day or two to extend the weekend. A stint of high-voltage shopping, coupled with some livewire moments at a nightclub in say Singapore or Dubai are enough to charge up those manic Mondays or terrible Tuesdays for the hip and happening Indian.
Indeed, with improved salary packages and changing lifestyles, destinations like Dubai, Maldives, Singapore and Sri Lanka seem to have become popular for weekend travel.
A 30-40% drop in fares on the southeastern sector has also helped tourists. Couple this with affordable accommodation and you have a couple of nights’ of fun and frolic. For instance, a Kolkata-Singapore-Kolkata round-trip now costs a mere Rs 6,000 plus taxes, from the standard Rs 16,000 plus. Fares from Mumbai currently hover at Rs 14,000 from a previous high of Rs 17,000.
No wonder travel companies and airlines are evolving short-stay packages. “Places like Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand have become hot tourist spots for laid-back weekends,” said Sunil Gupta, chief operating officer at travel agency SOTC’s outbound division.
“A lot of weekend overseas travel is happening out of Chennai and Bangalore,” said Bharath Mahadevan, manager, southern region, Singapore Airlines (SIA). Even Mid-Eastern airlines have seen a surge in traffic, according to Salem Obaidalla, vice-president, India and Nepal, Emirates. “The 63 non-stop direct flights from seven Indian destinations to Dubai have improved the prospects of a quick getaway for people in Thiruvananthapuram, Hyderabad and Kolkata,” he said. That’s why Emirates doubled its services in Chennai from four flights to eight and from five to seven from Kochi.” Sri Lanka Air is offering a two-night stay in Colombo for Rs 14,000. “This is an ideal weekend shopping package,” said Rajeev Nangiaof Trac, which represents Lankan tourism in India.
And who are they targeting? It’s the upwardly mobile, 30-plus couples, say travel circles.
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