Across Africa and Asia, Indian traveller hits the unexplored trail
NEW DELHI : Baku. Khinaliq. Batumi.
Tbilisi. Gudauri. Heard of them? No? Well, the first two cities are in Azerbaijan, and the next three in Georgia, both part of the erstwhile Soviet Union, and now independent countries with exotic fare for the international tourist.
And Indians are taking note. Travel portal Thomas Cook, for instance, has seen demand for Georgia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan sectors increase 300-500% versus pre-pandemic levels for its business, said Rajeev Kale, president and country head for holidays, MICE, visa at Thomas Cook (India) Limited. Other agencies, too, report similar eye-popping numbers.
Many Indians, looking for a short trip or a quick ski holiday for their upcoming summer break, are choosing to go to these places instead of enduring a long wait for a Schengen visa for Europe, say travel planners. Short, direct flights from India, inexpensive hotel tariffs (even the luxury hotels are cheaper than in India) and the fact that such places are less explored, are turning out to be big magnets. Of course, traditional Europe tours have not lost their charm either.
For Georgia, India is a top 10 country by international visitors, accounting for about 100,000 travellers annually. This figure has grown 74% from before the pandemic in 2019, per the country's official tourism statistics. Similarly, India is the fourth most important market for Azerbaijan, accounting for 33,600 travellers a quarter or about 130,000 annually, up 258% from 2019 when comparing January-March 2024 to the same period that year, according to the official data of the tourism body.
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