In 2004, Lonely Planet declared India one of the top five tourist destinations in the world. Of late, Indians seem to have made the world their destination. Take Riddhi Wallia. Two years ago, she discovered Europe's mysteries when she spent 60 days hopping through various countries on Eurail-walking through a rain forest near Brussels, traipsing down the Champs d'Elysees in Paris and binge partying in Amsterdam. "It was wonderful to wake up every morning and spend the day discovering a new, beautiful country," says the 24-year-old who has since been bitten by the backpacking bug and has traversed through Kenya, Tanzania and Congo.

PICTURE SPEAK
INDIANS IN TRANSIT: Wallia (left) in Venice and Nayak in Malaysia

A deep-sea diving holiday in Malaysia introduced Sukesh Nayak to the wonders of his credit card. Not only did the 29-year-old advertising executive spend 15 days on a boat learning the nuances of marine life, but also got the opportunity to work his new digital camera. After acquiring an advanced diver's certificate, Nayak is already planning his next trip to wrangle a master's licence and spread his wings beyond south-east Asia. "I like to chart my own travel plans by researching on the Net," says Nayak.

5 crore people are likely to travel abroad by 2020 if the industry grows at 9 per cent a year. 1.1 lakh crore rupees are likely to be spent by Indians on travel, inland and foreign, this year. 65,000 Indians honeymoon abroad annually, the largest such segment in the world.

Wallia and Nayak are just two of the growing tribe of the new Indian traveller-younger, braver, more adventurous. Gone are the days of retirement travel. Thanks to larger disposable incomes and travel-on-instalment schemes, many youngsters and dinks (double income, no kids) are travelling more, breaking the traditional annual vacation into two or three trips. According to travel agency SOTC, 15-20 per cent of its travellers are in the 25-35 age group. In the young traveller's dictionary, there is no place for package tours. They are happy to chart a new route, pick up a Rough Guide and make a go for the big, wide world. Eastern Europe is emerging as the new place of choice, and on a shoestring budget, a 15-day backpacking holiday costs around Rs 1 lakh.

Helping the EMI generation are the "travel now, pay later" schemes. While Thomas Cook, SOTC and Cox & Kings have collaborated with finance companies to offer easy travel loans, banks too are offering loans. So Thomas Cook has tied up with SBI to offer European packages for an EMI of Rs 2,365 in 48 months, while SOTC has tied up with Kotak Mahindra. Europe on a platter for 60 Euros a day-travel junkies have never had such a good fix.

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