Rising income prompts Indians to plan vacations abroad

World's largest travel portal Tripadvisor has put together a travel price index for Indians to find out the cost of spending holidays abroad.

An evening in Prague, Auckland, Marrakech or Beijing is much cheaper than in Maximum city (Mumbai).

Mumbai has emerged as the 13th most expensive destination across 50 countries for Indians, according to a survey by the website.

Paris is the most expensive travel destination for Indians followed by Zurich, Tokyo, London and New York.

The survey's joint assessment of stay in 4-star hotel, an 8-km taxi fare and one meal with alcohol costs about Rs 8,500 in Mumbai, about Rs 6500 in Auckland against Rs 19000 in Paris.

Back home in India, Jaipur is the best bargain for travelers at just Rs 3933, followed by Agra, Shimla, Darjeeling and then Goa at Rs 6740.

But the middle class travellers - with their rising income, now prefer to travel outside the country. Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore are popular destinations and the freebies thrown in just add to the fun.

Vijay Thakur, President at Indian Association of Tour Operators said,“Outbound travelers are increasing. The economic crisis is not affecting them that much.”

With growing Indian travelers, hotels and tour operators worldwide are even creating special services and menus for them. Recovering from the political turmoil, Egypt is also wooing travelers with great bargains.

Nearly 10 million Indians traveled abroad last year, a number which is likely to hit 12 million this year. But people choosing to travel within the country will depend on what they get in India against other countries for what they shell out.