Out with theTaj Mahaland in with the Tirupati Balaji temple or the golden sands of Kovalam in Kerala. A recent study by the ministry of tourism projects that the southern region will far outstrip the north in tourist arrivals by increasing margins every year. The study projects that domestic tourism in the south will touch a staggering 1.6 billion visitors annually by 2022 while number of foreign tourists coming to the south will grow to 14 million by the same year.The study, which is based on existing growth rates, projects that the number of domestic tourists to the south will increase by 91% every five years until it touches 1.6 billion domestic tourists in a year in 2022. On the other hand, the north, starting with a slower curve of 30% growth until 2017, will register 44% growth until 2022. As against 1.6 billion tourists in the south, the north is expected to have 55 million domestic tourists in 2022.Explaining this disparity, N G Shankar, treasurer of Travel Agents Association of India (TAAI) said, "South as a destination is only being explored now. Moreover, with the IT sector developing, business travelers who travel to southern cities often return later on vacation, wanting to explore more. Places like Hampi in Karnataka, Kovalam and Varkala beaches in Kerala and even cities like Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad and Pondicherry are now generating a lot of interest."While the golden triangle in the north comprising of Delhi, Agra and Jaipur still draws a lot of visitors, tourists are now more interested in exploring relatively lesser known destinations through offbeat modes of travel. "In the south, tour operators are now coming up with interesting customised travel packages," said Prema Radhakrishnan of Emerald Airways. "Recently, a tour operator arranged a travel itinerary that involved exploring the rural south by bullock cart. The package was arranged for a Singapore tourist who had never seen a bullock cart before. Similarly, tour operators in Chennai are now offering a Brahmin tour. This includes early morning filter coffee, an invite into the home of a Tamil Brahmin for a meal as per their custom, attending a Tamil Brahmin wedding and even teaching the tourist how to tie a nine-yard saree or a panchagacham veshti."The southern region also offers better safety and security than the north currently, added Shankar. "With LTTE and naxalites no longer a problem in Andhra Pradesh or Tamil Nadu, many unexplored places are opening up," he said.Present numbers bear out the trend. Latest figures from the ministries dating 2011 show that among the top contributors to tourism in the country, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka rank in the top four.A deeper look at the study shows the trend may also be due to classification of hotels. While the north has the maximum number of 5 and 4 star hotels as well as unclassified motels, south has the highest number of 1-3 star hotels. "Majority of domestic travellers are middle and upper middle class people who prefer hotels in this category. However, if the south has to continue along this development curve, then we need to have more boutique hotels in southern cities and better road and air transport accessibility. Hotspots like Coorg could draw in bigger numbers if transport is improved." Source: http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2013-02-18/india/37159786_1_domestic-tourists-tourist-arrivals-star-hotels
