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While Kant says “it’s a good idea if tourists stay for a month, because India requires people to spend that kind of time,” he adds that because of the rise in wedding tourism, “We’re looking at the possibility of modifying this law.”

Meanwhile, there’s the big fat foreign wedding...

When Lakshmi Mittal got his daughter married in a star-studded lavish ceremony in France, the world was left gasping. Now, Indians who take their weddings more seriously than anybody else in the world are heading offshore to destinations like Malaysia, Singapore, Dubai, Mauritius, Thailand and Sri Lanka, all in a bid to try something off-the-beaten-track. The trend has caught on so much that various international tourism boards are promoting themselves as wedding destinations in India.

Malaysian Tourism Promotion Board began promoting wedding tourism in India somewhere in 2004, where it tied up with airlines and hotels and offered people economical packages and customised Indian weddings. Says Manoharan P, director India, “We realised that weddings are really big in India. We are trying to tell people that if they are planning a destination wedding,they can come to Malaysia and spend as much money as they would at a destination wedding in India…We are encashing on the Indian sentiment of trying to outdo each other when it comes to hosting the perfect wedding.”

Says Kenneth Lim, area director, Singapore Tourism Board: “We do see a trend here. For now, we are pushing Singapore as a honeymoon destination, but we may start looking at the weddings market soon.”

TOP EXOTIC DEMANDS

• Elephants, camels and horses

• Palkis

• Swords and shields

• Folk singers, dancers

• Exotic shahi cuisine from across India

• Priests from Benaras and Sanskrit shlokas

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