More options for NY getaways

With the year coming to an end, Hyderabadis are packing their bags getting ready to reach to their native homes or on a holiday destination. According to the latest reports, there is an increase of 8-10% in travellers across India and Hyderabad is no different. With the addition of new cities by the airlines, people have more options and can spend quality time with family and friends instead of travelling long distance in trains and other modes.

The direct flights to Bangkok have opened the doors to several looking to travel to Thailand.  With the launching of direct flights to Imphal, many students and families from the North East, who settled in Hyderabad, are now choosing air travel to Imphal. Madhu Chandra who works with OM Books and who hails from Manipur says, “It is a boon. In the past it would take three days to reach and now for as low as Rs 4,000 we can reach the North East.” Manikanta, a medical transcriptionist says, “In the past we would travel from Kolkata but now it is so easy.” According to estimates, there are close to 10,000 youngsters working and studying in the city who are from the Northeastern region.

Tourism studies and trends indicate that the year 2018-19 will see more than 20 million Indian tourists embanking on overseas travel and with the advent of low-cost international airfares and holiday packages that are available on monthly instalments, international travel is no longer a luxury. According to Rohit Hangal, Director, Sphere Travelmedia, Hyderabad market is one of the fastest and exciting as the city has a cosmopolitan population and people have started planning holidays well in advance. With an estimated 561 million domestic tourist visits, the sector is looking up. He further said, “The India International Travel Mart held in the city was ample proof of the growing stature of the sector with 15,000 buyers and 150 participants from eight countries.”

As per the statistics of Telangana Tourism department, in 2017 2.47 lakh foreign tourists visited the city and domestic tourist arrivals touched 2.71 crore. The figures for 2018 are to be released soon but tourism officials say that they are expecting a jump of 10 per cent.