Holiday fads: Adventure,beaches,wildlife
Holidaying abroad is much about activity-based tour packages with varied themes like adventure, beaches, wildlife and cruises. Bridge the gap while travelling
By Preeti Kulkarni, TNN |
If there is anything that the forthcoming festive season is associated with apart from sweets, shopping and revelry, it’s vacations. And considering the affordable airfares and the perks that the travel industry is offering this season, it is the ideal time to travel.
Today, tour operators offer a number of innovative schemes. Instead of going for standard packages, which typically feature visits to a particular destination’s landmark monuments, shopping centres, beaches and eateries, you can opt for certain out-of-the-ordinary packages.
These days, many travel companies offer tours, which centre around themes like adventure, beaches, wildlife, cruises etc, also on offer are packages designed specifically for senior citizens, women, youngsters and so on.
“Of late, many Indians below the age of 30, are seen travelling and they want to try their hand at theme holidays. Activities such as scuba diving, hot air ballooning, bungee jumping, snorkelling and para-sailing to Australia and New Zealand, Kenyan safari, cruises in Egypt and Alaska, and wine tours to Europe are becoming increasingly popular,” says executive director of Cox&Kings, Arup Sen.
Concurs AVP-Business Development (Leisure) of travel portal Travelguru.com Amit Kapoor, “Today, young working professionals in their early 30s are looking to explore newer destinations.”
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Similarly, travel companies have also come up with gender-specific tours. Elaborates director of Kesari Tours Veena Patil: “Our special package ‘My Fair Lady’ is only for women. We take them to countries like Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand. The idea is to facilitate a well-deserved break for the average Indian woman. Usually, even on tours, she is tied up with looking after her family; so, My Fair Lady gives her an opportunity to take time out exclusively for herself.” Senior citizens too seem to have taken a great liking for such schemes. “A lot of senior citizens are travelling these days and they usually comprise couples who have their children well settled,” informs Sen.
“We offer special packages for senior citizens as a lot of them have the time and inclination to travel after their retirement,” explains Mr Kapoor. Another example of a theme-based package is Kesari’s Foodies and Shoppies tour, which, as the name suggests, allows tourists to indulge in eating and shopping.
Says Ms Patil, “We are organising such a trip to Thailand in December. We want our tourists to just enjoy shopping and food in that country. The destination is the same but the theme is different.” If you do not wish to take the beaten track and prefer to do your own thing, you can opt for special interest tours.
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Travel companies organise tours for those who are interesting in exploring virgin destinations, studying history and architecture, soaking up local culture and festivals, enjoying nature, wildlife and forests and so on. Thanks to theme packages, you can indulge in activities you like the most, and the company of people with common interests makes the excursion all the more pleasurable. So, now is the perfect time to accept the travel industry’s invitation and step onto the red carpet rolled out by them, en route to an enthralling holiday. Bon Voyage!
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