With pink slips and paycuts causing havoc with the family budget, the city which loves to vacation abroad is choosing to cool off this summer in tourist spots near home. Thanks to the economic slowdown, domestic tourist operators are laughing all the way to their bank.

The Maharashtra State Development Corporation (MTDC) which has seen nearly 60% reduction in traffic from foreign tourists is witnessing an unprecedented demand from the locals, especially in newly developed tourist spots. “Virgin beaches along the Konkan belt such as Tarkarli, Ganapatipule, Harihareshwar etc are attracting lot of local tourists. Our resorts are booked full for the whole vacation season,” said Vijay Chavan, deputy general manager, MTDC.

 

Domestic tour operators claim that local tourist spots such as Alibaug, Kashid, Bordi, Mahableshwar, Shirdi etc are seeing more than the usual number of visitors. “With several public holidays coming one after another, there has been an increasing demand for package tours. With recession making more headline, we expected a dismal season,” said an elated Kishen Madhuker, tour operator, Chembur.

 

According to Chavan, the rise in domestic tourism is mainly due to reduction in vacations abroad. “People are preferring to take short and frequent holidays to nearby spots instead of flying off to exotic foreign locations. This is very beneficial to us as domestic tourism is thriving,” he said.