Travellers are leaving no stone unturned while booking a trip to foreign countries including Switzerland, Austria, Bali, Canada, Turkey, Greece and Italy. While the prices of tour packages to the United States had been slashed due to a decrease in the air fare and hotel bookings, South East Asian destinations like Mauritius, which are completely dependent on tourism, have been adversely affected.

“Tourists from Punjab and the northern region are increasingly opting for European destinations as there has been a considerable decrease in the air fare and tour packages in the last four months. The return ticket for London around three months back was between Rs 30,000-35,000 while it is around Rs 26,000 now,” said Mohinder Bajaj, Director of Bajaj Travels.

Other travel agents in the city agree that there has been a considerable increase in tourists preferring international locations. Seeing the cost advantage, tourists are innovating and customising their tour packages. While places such as Singapore, Thailand and Malaysia have been common favourites, people from the region are also exploring new destinations like Greece and Turkey. The tour package to Greece which was priced at around Rs 1 lakh a few months ago is now between Rs 60,000-70,000.

“While a three-night tour package to Singapore costs between Rs 26,000-27,000, a holiday within the country would cost almost the double. The cost of a four-night package is around Rs 40,000-45,000. Certainly, tourists in this northern region are still charmed by international destinations so there has been a marked increase in the number of international tourists,” said Kanwaljeet Singh Cheema, Director of Grand Travel Planners Limited.

While an increasing number of people are heading to foreign locales, the limited number of domestic tourists are moving from hill stations to explore places in the Northeast and Southern parts of the country like Kerala.