Madurai folk bitten by travel bug as more head abroad for vacation

Madurai: With temperatures hovering around 40 degree celsius, many Madurai residents are packing their bags for holidays to cooler spots not just within the country but to destinations abroad. Travel agencies say there has been a 20% increase in bookings for international trips this year.

“Both domestic and international tourism has been increasing post Covid-19 pandemic with people keen to travel.

Thanks to the general elections, some are hesitant to travel at present due to security restrictions in carrying cash. But hill stations like Ooty and Munnar are still very much in demand. International bookings have seen an increase by around 20% compared to last year and domestic bookings overall could have gone up by up to 50%,” said B S G Mustafa, former president, Madurai Travel Club.

S Niranjana and her family have planned a trip to Singapore this year. “My son was keen to travel abroad this summer as his friends have gone to foreign countries. Fortunately, I found that there were packages within our budget. Even travelling to North India costs more or less the same,” she said. While Asian countries like Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand are more popular destinations among travellers, travel agencies say that of late European countries are being sought after.

For Asian countries, packages start from `50,000 and Rs one lakh per head for three days-two nights while for European countries they start from `2 lakh and `3 lakh onwards for six days and five nights. Guru, a representative of Sky Planet Holidays, said Northern European countries such as Finland, Norway and Denmark have become popular. “Though packages start from `3 lakh for Europe, we are getting a lot of bookings. We are able to fill around 50+ bookings in bulk for Europe tours. Australia, New Zealand, Bali, Cambodia and Vietnam are in demand,” he added.

Locally, vacationers plump for cooler destinations. “I wanted to take my two teen daughters outside Tamil Nadu this year. I’m considering Darjeeling or a coastal place this time. Travel packages have become more affordable even for long distances,” said M Ramesh, a resident of Anna Nagar. Madurai city is a halting point for tourists bound for destinations in south Tamil Nadu like Kodaikanal or Ramanathapuram.

“It is difficult to get bookings for tours to Kashmir or Himachal Pradesh as they are expensive too. Domestic travel may remain stagnant for a while but international travel is increasing every year and we are getting up to 15% increase in bookings,” said G Raveendran, managing director, Skywing.