This festival season, Calcuttans are travelling like every other year and the quest for new destinations along with the popular hot spots is as strong as before.
Tour operators said some considered putting off their Puja travel plans after the mass protests and social media call to shun festivities for the rape and murder of the junior doctor at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital.
However, most of them decided to go ahead. Tour operators said cancellations would mean losing a lot of money in terms of airfares and hotel bookings.
Kashmir to Kenya, the travel map for Calcuttans is like every Puja and the airfares in most sectors are rising like every year.
Shilpa Bhattacharya, who runs a business in the city, will be going to Kenya and Tanzania with her family on October 10 for a 15-day trip.
The family of four will be going to Masai Mara National Reserve, Mount Kilimanjaro and several other places.
“We had planned the trip in March. What happened (the rape and murder of the junior doctor) is extremely sad and disgusting. We were not in a mood to go on a vacation but cancellations would have meant losing a lot of money,” said Bhattacharya.
A cardiologist from Calcutta, attached to a private hospital in the city, will go on a week-long trip to Europe. His tour operator said the doctor had planned the trip with his family in July.
In the wake of the street protests, many businesses in the city have reported a slowdown, unusual for this time of the year. The travel industry appears to have bucked the trend.
Tour operators said the demand for new places was also “high as usual”.
“There are bookings for places like Georgia, Finland and some remote locations. Also, groups are going to usual favourites like Thailand and Singapore,” said Avijit Das, founder director of Hermes Voyages.
Anil Punjabi, national committee member of Travel Agents Federation of India, representing eastern region, said: “There were many who put their travel plans on hold after the RG Kar incident and subsequent protests. But most are going ahead because they had booked the trips two to three months in advance.”
Sharna Choithramani, her husband Yogesh and their three-year-old son Mivaan are going to Singapore on October 6 and returning on October 14.
“Last two years we did not travel because our son was too small. This time we were determined to travel during the Pujas,” said Sharna.
The tourism departments of several countries said they were buoyant about the prospects of Puja travel.
“We are expecting a good footfall from India this festive season,” said an official of Tourism Authority of Thailand. The country is offering visa-free entry for Indians.
Hong Kong will be having several festivals to attract tourists in October.
“The Wine and Dine Festival in Hong Kong is gearing up for its highly anticipated 2024 edition, promising an exciting five-day culinary extravaganza from October 23 to 27 at the Central Harbourfront,” said a spokesperson for the Hong Kong Tourism Board. The Hong Cyclothon and Mid-Autumn Festival will also be held in October.
At home, the demand has peaked for hotel rooms in Kashmir.
“For several years now, we have been getting huge footfall from Bengal during Durga Pujas and this time it is the same,” said Firoz Sheikh, proprietor of Destination Paradise.
The airfares are soaring, too. According to tour operators, in some airlines, the return fare between Calcutta and Singapore is ₹75,000 for those flying out on October 7, as against the average of ₹35,000. The return fare between Calcutta and Bangkok is touching ₹40,000 as against the average of ₹25,000.