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A file picture of the botanical garden in Ooty.

Ashwini Phadnis

New Delhi, Aug 3 This August 15 long weekend, forget flying, start driving. At least that is what scores of families looking for the weekend’s break are planning to do.

With international and domestic air fares at a high largely on account of rising aviation fuel costs, families are looking to drive to close by holiday destinations.

In the domestic sector alone fuel surcharge has increased from Rs 300 less than two years ago to Rs 3,100 for long haul flights now.

Some are even avoiding the foreign shores which were earlier the cheaper and preferred choices.

“The bookings for the August 15 weekend are just beginning to take off, but what we are noticing is that people are opting for destinations that are only a couple of hours’ drive from the city,” the Chief Operating Officer, Ezeego1.com, Ms Neelu Singh, told Business Line.

Hence, people from Mumbai are opting for a weekend break in Matheran, Alibaug, Shirdi and even Goa.

Seeing this trend of driving rather than flying, Ezeego1.com has recently launched packages for destinations like Ooty and Kanyakumari for families in Chennai.

“This enables people to travel by road or rail rather than flying,” Ms Singh said.

The pleasant weather conditions in north India in June this year, which traditionally is the peak season for travel, is another reason being cited for a pick up in demand during the August 15 weekend, said Mr Amit Saberwal, Vice-President, Retail and Business Development, makemytrip.com.

“A lot of families in north India decided to stay home in June and are now looking to beat the heat by travelling to close by holiday destinations over the August 15 long weekend,” Mr Saberwal pointed out.

The Executive Director, Bird Group, Mr Ankur Bhatia, however feels that despite a shift in preference to close by destinations, there has definitely been a slow down in travel plans.

“Last year it was difficult to get an air ticket and hotel room at popular tourist destinations for the August 15 weekend unless bookings were made much in advance. But this year they are available even now,” he pointed out.

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