More Indians travel abroad as domectic airfares skyrocket
By siliconindia   |   Wednesday, 22 December 2010, 20:17 IST
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New Delhi: With December it is not only the people who get busy with holidays, but travel agencies, hotel and airline industries also get busy as a bee. With attractive airfares and discounts on hotel rooms, more number of Indians are tempted to spend their holidays abroad than in India. Singapore, Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur, Dubai, Hong Kong, Colombo and Kathmandu are the top favorite destinations that people opt for reports Anindya Upadhyay for The Economic Times. Domestic airfare skyrocketed at 150 to 200 percent which gave rise to international travel a 30 percnet growth. "A shift of 10-15 percent of the holidaying population to international destinations from domestic ones happens almost every year. But this time, at least 20-25 percent of the holidayers are expected to go abroad, especially, UAE, Thailand and Malaysia," according to Ankur Bhatia, MD, travel consultancy firm Bird Group. Indian destinations such as Rajasthan, Agra and Himachal Pradesh are attracting more tourists. Also Indian tourists are showing keen interest in the North-East and the Andaman and Nicobar islands. Goa and Kerala remain the favorite destination for young crowd. Apart from airfares, hotels have also played a vital role. The discounts on hotel rooms have made tourists save on their budget for holiday expenditures. For example, a three star hotel room which costs about Rs 8,000 a day in the peak season, one in Bangkok or Kuala Lumpur will cost only Rs 4,000 during the holiday season. "Flights are full and it is because of the high demand that airfares have gone up in the first place. But higher airfares are not good for us. However, people are holidaying this December, that too more than last year," said Madhavan Menon, Managing Director, Thomas Cook. Due to the increase in the airfares, travelers have vouched out for other mode of transports like railways. Railways have seen a growth of 15 percent compared to last year.