Bali tops the list of vacation-goers from Chandigarh tricity

June is here, and so are the summer vacations. Kids have tucked their school bags away into the far corners of their rooms and office-goers have also gotten rid of their work folders for the time being.

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With most of the schools closed for the month-long summer vacations, tricity residents are stocking up sunscreen and shades as they make a beeline for destinations in Southeast Asia.

Tours and travel agents say Bali, Maldives, Phuket and Krabi islands in Thailand are the most popular international destinations among tricity residents this summer. A week-long vacation to Bali costs around Rs 65,000 per person, while a trip to Vietnam can be arranged for a similar price point.

“Tourists’ interest in Vietnam as a summer destination has grown exponentially in the past few years. We are getting a lot of queries these days,” said Deepmala Dikshit, a Chandigarh-based tour operator.

After netizens ran a campaign against Azerbaijan for supporting Pakistan during Operation Sindoor, tourists are not showing much interest in visiting it. Travel agents say it was the most sought-after destination among Indians at one point, adding, “Those who had booked their packages before Operation Sindoor are still going to Azerbaijan. There is no travel advisory from the government as such. But yes, its popularity has dimmed and travellers are bit apprehensive.”

As far as domestic destinations are concerned, Shimla, Dharamsala, Kullu and Manali are back in vogue after the Pahalgam incident.

“Flight occupancy to Srinagar has improved a bit but tourists are still not coming in big numbers. Leh, however, remains an all-time favourite among domestic and international tourists,” said Chandigarh-based taxi operator Parvinder Saini, adding, “In North India, most of our taxis are heading to Shimla, Dharamsala, Kullu, Manali, Dalhousie and Uttarakhand. Many from Punjab are heading to Hemkund Sahib. Jammu and Kashmir is completely off the list for now. There is no demand and we are also avoiding it.”

As many as 38 countries are offering Visa-on-arrival (VoA) to Indian nationals,25 countries are offering Visa-free entry to Indian passport holders while 62 are offering Indian citizens e-visa, according to the MEA. Countries offering simplified visa processes like e-visa or visa-on-arrival options such as Thailand, Malaysia, the UAE and Sri Lanka are being preferred by tourists.