Travellers make it a long weekend for short trips

MOST MUMBAIITES ARE TRAVELLING TO KAMSHET, KOLAD, SRIVARDHAN, DIVEAGAR AND HARIHARESHWAR

MUMBAI:WITH Eid and Guru Nanakjayanti just before the weekend, people across the country are taking a day off from work on Thursday to extend it even further and enjoy trips to short-haul destinations, according to travel companies.

Karan Anand, head (relationships) Cox & Kings, said the weekend has become an opportunity for travellers to take a long break ahead of the Christmas and New

Year rush. “Most of them are planning a 5 to 6-day trip by taking a day off on Thursday. The travel demand for this week has surged by 17%. Domestic tours to Rann Utsav, Andaman, The Golden Triangle (DelhiAgra - Jaipur) and NorthEast are in demand. Wildlife safaris in Dudhwa, Pench, Kanha, Tadoba and Jim Corbett are attracting young explorers.”

Daniel D’souza, head (sales), India and NRI markets, SOTC Travel, said, “While Indians are value conscious while planning their travel when it comes to long weekends, there is a spike in impulse travel plans. Destinations with visa-on-arrival facility, such as Thailand, Bali, Mauritius and Sri Lanka are in great demand.”

“The trend of short and frequent trips within India and abroad has become a norm, particularly with travellers from tier-i cities . Off-road/self-drive trips are seeing a strong and sustained growth in the metros of Mumbai, Bengaluru, Delhi and Chennai. We have witnessed a spike of 40% for domestic holidays and over 25% for short-haul international destinations from last year,” said Rajeev Kale, country head, Thomas

Cook, a travel-related financial services company.

Sunil Gupta, MD and CEO of Avis India, a car-rental company, said that most Mumbaiites are travelling to Kamshet, Kolad, Srivardhan, Diveagar and Harihareshwar.

Heena J Akhtar, cofounder, TRIPXOXO said, “Travellers are looking for adventures such as kayaking in Lonavla, river rafting in Kolad, land and water sports in Kasara and Igatpuri.”