Amid a diplomatic row between India and Maldives, several travel portals are witnessing all-time high searches for the country's beach destinations besides Lakshadweep.
Make My Trip, an online travel company, said in a statement that besides the high level of curiosity in Lakshadweep, the searches for Daman, another beach destination, have increased by over 350 per cent.
A massive row was triggered after the Maldives deputy minister, along with other cabinet members, now suspended, made disparaging and unsavoury references to PM Modi's recent Lakshadweep visit.
"We are recording an all-time high in on-platform searches for beach destinations in the country. Searches for the top beach destinations across the country have doubled in the last couple of days. Besides the high level of curiosity in Lakshadweep, Daman is seeing an increase in searches by over 350 per cent, followed by Andamans which is recording an increase in overall search volumes by over 120 per cent," Make My Trip said in a statement.
"Other destinations which are recording a healthy double-digit growth include Kochi, Gokarna, Puri, Visakhapatnam, Varkala, Puducherry, Goa and other beaches across Tamil Nadu and Kerala," the statement added.
A travel agent said that in the past two days, they have received many calls from customers regarding beach destinations. "And it is unusual because earlier they never got such queries in this season," he said.
Meanwhile, Rajeev Kale, President and Country Head - Holidays, MICE, Visa, Thomas Cook (India) Limited, said, "With the Prime Minister's recent visit to Lakshadweep and encouragement to Indians to explore the islands within the country, we have witnessed an uptick in our searches for both domestic islands and beach destinations. Our search data for Lakshadweep indicates a significant jump of over 950 per cent compared to December, followed by destinations like Andamans, Goa, Kerala's Kovalam, Daman and Diu - a clear catalyst for Domestic Tourism."
Daniel D'Souza, President & Country Head - Holidays, SOTC Travel said, "The Prime Minister's initiative to inspire Indians to explore our country's less explored, hidden gem, Lakshadweep and its pristine islands have successfully garnered significant attention and interest from the country. The island destination has become the most searched destination across the world today and our search data indicates a surge of almost 200 per cent on our portal for Lakshadweep cruise sailings."
"We anticipate that this surge in interest and demand will encourage authorities to strengthen the infrastructure in the destination and establish direct connectivity to boost tourism in the destination," he said.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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