By Bhavesh Shah
Place: Ahmedabad | Agency: DNA
Now that the West Asia, Europe and American destinations hold no
novelty for the ardent Gujarati tourist, Moneybhai and Moneyben have
started exploring other destinations, in search of the more hidden and
exotic locales. Their attention has turned towards Southeast Asia, more
specifically the not-so-common destinations of Cambodia and neighbouring
Vietnam.
Seat of the Khmer empire, which ruled Southeast Asia for six
centuries, Cambodia conjures the image of ancient civilisation replete
with its magnificent Buddhist stone temples and evergreen forests, not
to mention its colourful marine life. Vietnam, also termed as mysterious
islands with stretch of 125 beaches is also another place which is
currently hot on Gujaratis’ list of travel interests. Even local travel
experts endorse the fact that the two places are drawing enough interest
among Gujaratis. World Heritage Sites of Hoi An and My Son and the
Marble Mountains are the biggest of attractions in Vietnam, while
Cambodia’s cultural centre, Phnom Penh and its massive stretches of
natural beaches are its greatest beckoners.
“After exploring
India, people start their foreign travel from East Asia and than
according their needs and income standard visit Europe, North America
and other parts of the world. Individual bookings for Vietnam and
Cambodia and interior areas of New Zealand are the latest flavour,” said
group tour operator Jeetu Shah of Heena Tours and Travels.
Apart
from budget, usual decision making process involves number of holidays
for outing, places of visit and how far the destination is. “First
timers will usually travel to places already visited by others. Word of
mouth publicity and group bookings are preferred. However, frequent
travellers like to take the risk of exploring newer destinations,” Shah
adds.
Echoing his view, another expert also agrees that a short
trips, to Cambodia and Vietnam, is the emerging trend. “Number of people
visiting these two places are still low, however, sizeable,” says
Rajesh Lakhani of Exotic Tours. He adds that Hong Kong, Singapore, South
Africa and United States or the UK still remains the biggest
attractions.
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