Europe has been on the travel itinerary for Hyderabad, more so this year, going by the observations from those in the travel industry.
The industry is still waiting to see if the recent terror attacks in Paris and stepping up of security in the European belt have an impact on leisure travel.
International leisure travel from Hyderabad has been skewed towards the South East Asian belt in the past few years, given the shorter distance of travel and economic packages.
South East Asian nations are still hugely popular for those looking at international yearend getaways. During the course of 2015, though, there was a surge in travel towards Europe, followed by Australia, New Zealand and South Africa.
“One reason for the increase in travel to Europe can be attributed to the improved connectivity from Hyderabad with carriers like Air India introducing dreamliners. The other, more important reason is the favourable exchange rates after the Euro became more affordable,” reasons Ganesh Rao, general manager, Ascon Travels.
The Turkey-Greece-Italy belt has been hugely popular followed by Paris-Spain-Italy-Greece-Bulgaria sector. Paris has also been a favourite stopover for those heading towards Switzerland.
Both national and regional travel agencies note that it’s early to gauge if the recent terror attacks in Paris and the stepping up of security in Belgium will dent tourism from India.
“Incidentally, December is the time when tourists don’t normally head to Europe, given its weather conditions. The first half of December sees business travellers to Europe and so far, we haven’t had requests for cancellations. A conference that was to be held in Brussels has been put off for a later date,” adds Rao.
Writer and photographer Nishat Fatima, currently based in Paris, mentions two of her friends from Hyderabad who went ahead with their travel plans.
Fashion designer Asmita, meanwhile, is in Paris and states, “I feel quite safe. The French are actually thanking us for not cancelling our trip.”
