Travel-hungry Keralites are looking westward, in their quest to leave their footprints in new destinations.
And the globetrotter in them is willing to stretch the budget and fly extra hours to explore Europe, the United States or even Canada, than to their yesteryear favourites in Southeast Asia.
So says M.K. Soman, managing director of Somans Leisure Tours India Private Limited. “Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand etc., are still in demand since they can make it there at short notice all through the year. But there is a definitive change in preference to check out destinations in Europe and the U.S., though the tourist season there is largely confined to the seven months from April when the weather is enticing. And no doubt, Europe is the dream destination,” he says.
For Antartica too
Not that Keralites shun freezing cold - tour agencies here have even charted a 24-day trip to Antarctica. This includes 15 days by ship to the continent. The vacation season in Kerala - April-May, Onam and Christmas, sees a spurt in demand for families and others from God’s Own Country wanting to taste the First World.
Mr. Soman spoke of how the State’s outbound-tourist flow kept steady, even post-demonetisation and the August 2018 deluge. “People have come to realise that they can make a trip to western countries at much the same expense as a tour of Kashmir or the Delhi- Agra- Jaipur corridor and the money they would spent shopping there,” he says.
The increase in salary of professionals and government officials has resulted in people willing to spare upwards of ₹1 lakh for a trip to Europe, says Rajesh P.R., Government of India-licenced tour guide and outbound-tour leader, who often accompanies groups of globe-trotting Keralites.
“Nowadays, many youth sponsor tours of their parents. Apart from the West and Southeast Asia, Dubai, Indonesia, Vietnam and Sri Lanka too are in demand, while wildlife enthusiasts visit places such as South Africa. Former states of USSR too are finding takers.”
Incentive tours
Apart from families, corporate firms and others have stepped up incentive tours for business achievers, Mr. Rajesh says.