Sunday, September 13, 2015

Fewer foreign trips this festive season

Kolkata: Five weeks to go for Durga Puja holidays, but the usual buzz about overseas travel during the season seems to be missing.

The travel trade industry in Kolkata, which banks on the festive season to garner nearly 18-20% of the annual revenue from domestic and foreign trips, is desperately hoping that business would pick up over the next couple of weeks. "It has been a rather insipid season. There has been no movement in August and very few confirmed bookings till now. Usually, seven out of every 10 enquiries materialize into business around this time of the year. But this season, it's been the other way round, with only three out of 10 enquiries for a holiday being confirmed," said Travel Agents Federation of India chairman (east) Anil Punjabi.

The bomb blast at Erawan shrine that ripped through central Bangkok on August 17 seems to have scared off holidayers from one of the most popular tourist destinations. One in every five out-bound traveller from Kolkata usually ends up visiting Bangkok, as it is an inexpensive destination and only three hours away.
13/09/15 Times of India
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