Bhutan, Thailand, Sikkim, Meghalaya, Assam and Darjeeling are destinations that have emerged as new hot-spots for those who have deferred or cancelled their travel to Sri Lanka. As temperatures are on rise in throughout central, western and southern India, the eastern destinations come as a respite with their pleasant climate.
In addition, Indian tourists are attracted to their vibrant wildlife, intrinsic culture and delectable cuisine. Paro, Punakha, Thimpu, Guwahati, Kaziranga, Shillong, Gangtok and Kalimpong are the top visited tourist-sites at these destinations this season.
Data showed a 41% increase in cancellation of departure bookings for Sri Lanka from April 21 to 27. That Colombo was a top pick for cities like Bengaluru, the Easter weekend showed from the death of five Indians in the deadly blasts that claimed 290 lives and injured several more. The postponement / cancellation also comes in the wake of special advisory released by the Government of India asking the citizens to only undertake essential travel.
Speaking about the destination shift after the incident, Karan Anand, Head Relationships at Cox & Kings said: “Indian travellers are shifting their choice of destination due to the situation in Sri Lanka. The Indian travel advisory by the Indian government adds to the anxiety of the traveller and he makes a shift to other safe destinations.”
“Similar cost bracket is one of the significant factors influencing Indian tourists to choose Bhutan and North East destinations. Cost to Sri Lanka is not starkly different,” added Anand.
Speaking on the samelines, Neelu Singh, CEO & Director, Ezeego1 said: “With the advisory to avoid all non-essential travel to Sri Lanka, tourists who were planning to travel to Sri Lanka are now switching to alternate destinations.”
“ While Thailand remains the most preferred, Bhutan and Nepal are gaining more tourists due to the altered preference and rate of enquiries for these two countries have gone up significantly. North east, Ladakh and Andaman Nicobar Islands are also top domestic choices for a destination change with a surge of over 20% due to the situation in Sri Lanka,” she added.
Increased accessibility via air and improved infrastructure are other factors encouraging tourists to opt for the eastern destinations. While the land cost remains unchanged, many tourists seeking a change in the last minute may have to shell out slightly more due to the dynamic increase in airfare.
Several Indian tourists travel to the island nation for its pristine beaches, a portion of who can be seen flying to Maldives at a higher cost to ensure no compromise on the experience.
While travel operators acknowledged that panic had set in, they were still hopeful that the overall impact of tourism to Sri Lanka would remain short-lived. According to them, Sri Lanka has become a popular destination for meetings and conference tours especially after GST was introduced in India, making such events costlier.
According to Sharat Dhall, COO, Yatra .com “It is early to quantify the impact of this incident on travel to the country, we anticipate a short term effect on bookings with some travellers preferring to shift to other destinations for their summer vacations.”
The island nation had also became a preferred tourist destination after floods caused damage in Kerala last August. In 2018, a total of 3,97,985 lakh Indian tourists visited Sri Lanka as against 3,84,628 lakh in 2017, information from the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority said.
India is the largest source market for Sri Lanka, which received 2.3 million tourists from around the world in 2018. The terror attack at the beginning of outbound travel season will impact tourist footfalls at least on short term, say industry experts.
India Largest Source Market for Sri Lankan Tourism
Month India UK China
Jan 19 40, 049 26, 414 26, 036
Feb 19 32, 286 29, 750 28, 039
March 19 34, 812 29, 682 23, 759
Total 244, 239 252, 033 244, 328
