Love’s on the move with travel dating

Jun 08, 2012 - Saumya Bhatia

The search for Mr Right continues. After exploring speed dating, casual dating, dinner dating, movie dating, it seems travel dating is set to emerge as the latest trend in dating.

The Web page of MissTravel.com which is for generous and attractive people has been in news about helping generous men meet attractive women. The site is the only online dating website for travellers, and claims to match generous travellers who hate to travel alone with attractive travellers who would love the opportunity to travel the world for free. Such a concept isn’t here yet, but we asked women if they’d like to take a chance at love on a trip.
Communication consultant Taruna Singh says, “The dating world has been active on every form of media for ages. As technology creates more avenues for people to interact socially, people find ways of connecting across geographical boundaries. Even though travel dating is not prevalent in India, there are people who are into online dating. As a social media consultant, I have heard of many people who have found their soulmates through online interaction. Travel dating is another avenue for people looking to find life partners. It is almost the same thing as posting your resume on a matrimonial site. When it comes to finding the right one, I guess being specific isn’t such a bad thing.”
Flying to meet a date doesn’t appeal to entrepreneur Nisha Sharma, who says, “It’s enticing like the fantasy of winning a lottery. But I personally would not be comfortable to have my travel paid for. Let him fly to me instead.”
However, media professional Neha Kumar begs to differ and says, “There is no fixed rule to finding a right person. If you have guts and want to explore, why not take a chance? I have met great people while travelling who have become life-long friends. So you never know. Plus, if you don’t get the right guy, you lose nothing.”
It’s adventurous and gutsy, but something like this may not work for Indians, believes Sonal Khatri, founder, Marryafriend.com. She says, “It’s a bit too early to have something like this here. Situations have changed and become acceptable, but a woman will be apprehensive about her security first. If a site cannot guarantee conduct of a man, how can it be secure?”
But marketing professional Samira Kapoor says she’s open to trying travel dating. “I am open to trying this out. So I don’t mind if I find Mr Right aboard a plane.”
Artist and avid traveller Boishali Sinha sums up saying travel and romance make great partners. “Romance is exploring, in fact it’s lifetime exploring and so is travel, that’s why they go well together. The more places you travel adds flavour to life and to romance as well.”

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