Chennai (Times of India): As Dubai continues to be expensive, people who want to experience an international holiday are heading to Sri Lanka from Chennai for the Christmas, New Year and Pongal weekends.

The restrictions on revelry imposed by the state government in Chennai are also encouraging those who can afford a holiday abroad to try out Colombo. The island nation is the cheapest destination from Chennai with return airfare in the range of INR 20,000-26,000 in the current season.

In comparison, a return ticket to Dubai is in the range of INR 40,000 to 2 lakhs for holiday weekends due to the high demand from transit travellers headed to Europe and the US. Though Singapore has begun issuing tourist visas, people do not prefer to travel for leisure if they do not have a friend or a relative in that Southeast Asian country. The testing for COVID-19 and requirement to stay in a hotel till results are ready is a hassle. Flights to Singapore are also full and are expensive because a large number of people who have permanent residency and those headed for work are travelling there.

Sriharan Balan of Madura Travels said several people had started exploring Sri Lanka for this holiday season as Dubai is expensive. “The fares are affordable compared to other foreign destinations,” he said. “Southeast Asia and the Middle East have traditionally been among the most popular destinations for tourists from Chennai, but these destinations are now ruled out due to restrictions and high cost.”

In pre-COVID times, too, people used to travel to Sri Lanka instead of domestic destinations in Jammu and Kashmir or other places in the north. “The return fare to Colombo used to be INR 10,000 while the fare to Srinagar was as much as INR 20,000,” he said. “Now, J&K is less expensive, but Colombo is nearer and there are direct flights from Chennai.”

Basheer Ahemed of Chennai Metro Travels said the UAE was a hassle-free but expensive destination to travel to. “People are booking tickets to Colombo because it is nearby and is cheaper, and we are getting many enquiries for New Year weekend, too,” he said. 

This gives some hope, though airfare and hotel tariffs are higher for international travel amidst the restricted number of flights.

“People have the option of travelling to Malaysia for the Pongal holidays as Malaysia Tourism is planning to open Langkawi in January,” said Ahmed. 

Tourist arrivals cross 150,000 mark