Mumbaikars travel abroad . . . and Travel Agents go all the way to the bank  

Time For A Holiday Abroad

The year 1997 was declared as Tour and Travel year for India, and Indians have increasingly found it hard to resist the charm of visiting exotic lands and faraway places. Indians have taken to the skies and the seas and visit not just the usual destinations like Mauritius or the UK, but also far east countries such as Malaysia, Indonesia, Australia, and even distant Iceland and Brazil. To meet the growing demand, tour and travel operators have come up with attractively packaged tours to every possible corner of the globe.

It is no longer the upmarket rich section of society who are taking to international holidays in a big way. With multinationals flooding the market, executives as well as the middle class are lured into some of the most luxurious holiday trips. And of all the various metros the holiday fever seems to have hit Mumbai in a big way. A fat pay cheque from work and a "party today and think of troubles tomorrow" attitude is responsible for this trend. " The boom has hit the average Mumbaikar in a big way, " says Bhavesh, an operations executive of SOTC Travels. "The prospect of visiting exotic locales is a very alluring prospect. "

Increased tourist interest has translated into tough competition in the market with tour operators offering everything one can possibly think of and more. From benefits such as free club membership to free holiday packages for the future, tour operators are all out to please the world traveller. However, packages have been designed keeping in mind people from all sections. "A major craze among Mumbaikers are the cruise packages," says Arvind Tandon of Faraway Travels, Andheri. Even for the considerably wealthy citizen of Mumbai, the five star accommodation and entertainment options are too hard to resist.

With the rest of the country gradually awakening to the idea of pleasure vacations, Mumbai accounts for a considerable section of visitors to these enchanting places. Being fun loving people willing to celebrate the pleasures of life, the people of Mumbai enjoy the experience of visiting these faraway places, be it the Caribbean or any other exotic locale- a unique experience, that has to be perfectly planned.

By : Sharmistha Chatterjee

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