Indian tourist is going places

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There was a time Bangkok and Singapore were the favourite destinations for Indian tourists travelling abroad, particularly first-timers.

They still are, but the experienced desi traveller has started going beyond to territories in the southeast in pursuit of pleasure and spirituality.

The ancient temples of Cambodia were a draw for many Indians this New Year.

“The 1970-74 batch of a university spent two nights on Krabi Islands and two at Chiang Mai in Thailand in the first week of 2012.

About 22 families comprising 55 people made the trip,” said H.M. Talha Rahman, chairman of Tamil Nadu chapter of Travel Agents Federation of India.

He said Indian tourists were skipping the usual and discovering new. The two countries that caught their attention this holiday season were Cambodia and Vietnam.

“Everybody is talking Cambodia and Vietnam now. The restored temples at Angkor Wat draw tourists to this ancient Cambodian city with mysterious past and rich cultural heritage,” Mr Talha said, adding that infinite stretches of powdery sand were one of Vietnam’s attractions.

“Elderly people from south Indian families show interest in visiting the Vishnu temple in Cambodia. They combine pilgrimage and leisure in Malaysia and Thailand,” he said.

Karthik Subramanian, who visited the Vishnu temple with wife, was mighty impressed by the ancient civilisation.

“We saw battle scenes from the Ramayana and the Mahabharata on the temple walls. The place is considered the seat of a civilization that dominated South Asia for years,” he said.

Langkawi, an archipelago of 104 islands in Andaman Sea some 30 km off mainland Malaysia, and Kota Kinabalu, one of the fastest-growing cities in that country, were the other new destinations on the radar of Indian tourists this season.

“Honeymoon couples show a lot of interest in these two cities in Malaysia,” said Akbar Holidays South & East India business head Abdul Khalieq.

For first-timers, however, Far-East countries continue to be the hotspots. “We want to see and experience for ourselves why people flock to Singapore and Malaysia,” said R. Meenakshi, who left for a week to Singapore on January 3.

The only hindrance for Indians on the move of late has been the rupee depreciation.

“Compared to 2010-11 Christmas and New Year season, we saw a 20 per cent drop in outflow of tourists this year,” said Mr Rahman.