Market Yard resident Gaurav Atal has just returned from a refreshing holiday with his wife in Coorg. Away from the city, the couple enjoyed relaxing amidst the raindrenched lush green surroundings of the tourist hotspot, albeit without the rush of the tourist season. An attractively discounted travel package only made the deal sweeter.
Like the Atals, there are many in the city who are packing their bags to explore monsoon getaways of their choice.
According to travel companies, travellers this year are preferring places that experience heavy rainfall like Kerala, Goa, Konkan, Uttarakhand (Nainital) and Coorg over the places where rains are relatively less. While travellers last year avoided the usual getaways in Maharashtra due to poor rainfall, opting instead for destinations in the other states, popular rain-heavy attractions in the state are finding favour among tourists this year, especially those looking for short getaways, including Lonavla, Khandala, Malshej, Matheran, Mahabaleshwar, Alibag and Bhandardara.
After the sweltering heat of the past few months, the season is certainly looking up for travel, with companies holding out attractive off-sea son offers and deals by airlines and hotels adding to the lure.
On the travel trends this year, Karan Anand, head (relationships) at Cox and Kings Ltd, said, “Heavy rainfall offers its own charm for the travellers. Tourists get attracted towards lush, green and romantic tranquillity . More than sightseeing, they like to enjoy the weather. Usually , monsoon is considered `off-season’ for these places, but this year we have observed a surge in bookings mainly for rainy destinations.“ Travel enthusiasts are ke en to make most of the four extended weekends falling during the monsoon, tour planners said “Many travellers have bo oked their trips much before the monsoon season __ in April-May . Many others who have not booked, are booking now. There is around 40% rise in the number of enquires, which is highest in the recent past,“ Anand said.
Travel during the monsoon typically peaks in August, Sachin Gosavi, area manager (sales) of Girikand Travels Pvt. Ltd, said. “Internationally, south-east Asian countries are perennial favourites. Within India, we have found a lot of interest among tourists from Maharashtra in visiting destinations like Himachal Pradesh and Leh-Ladakh,“ he added.
On the reasons for popularity of monsoon travel, Rohan Bhagwat, branch manager (sales) of Kesari Tours Pvt Ltd. said, “Those travelling off-season can get up to 20-30% discounts on packages. Besides this, travellers can also take advantage of monsoon special offers announced by travel companies and airlines during this season. There is also less crowd at the destinations, so you actually end up enjoying more.“
According to tour companies, while exploring nature is high on the agenda, travellers look forward to indulge in activities like trekking, bird watching, hiking and water rafting.
They also enjoy visiting beaches during the rain. Ayurvedic spa massage is one of the prime attractions of people visiting Kerala during the monsoon, they said.
Source : TOI
