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In India, travel is divided into two seasons. The more popular is summer when people travel abroad to places like the US, Europe and the Far East. The second season that begins in October is dominated by domestic travel, though a few look at destinations like Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand or Africa. A few years ago, a visit to the wildlife parks and reserves in central Kenya was a tour by itself for many Indians travelling to east Africa. Today it is a freebie thrown in. Mumbai-based Shree Raj Travels recently introduced "Buy South Africa and Get Kenya Free", a six-day package to South Africa which gives the traveller five nights in Kenya free. Offers from other companies include a 12-day tour to the Far East for Rs 49,000 (down from Rs 70,000 last year) and the "Unbelievable Australian Bargain" at Rs 3,999 per adult per night at Sydney, Melbourne, Perth and Adelaide.

Parull Gossain & Shunali K. Shroff " If it wasn't for the price, we would not have taken the trip." Business partners in Mumbai, the two packed their bags for Barcelona when they saw a Rs 31,000 per head offer from KLM/North West.

Such attractively priced packages are spurred by the heavily discounted airline rates. The drop in rates cascades down for the entire industry-hotel and airline rates falling first and tour packages following thereafter. Flights to Bangkok, Pattaya and Kuala Lumpur which cost between Rs 20,000 and Rs 22,000 last year on Thai and Malaysian Airlines are going for about Rs 16,000 this year. Says Yoggesh Selarka, manager (marketing), Shree Raj Travel: "Honeymooners are taking advantage of these schemes. Even corporates have given us bulk bookings."

DISGUISED BLESSING: Domestic tourism will gain from the fall in foreign arrivals

Will such packages and discounts really spur demand? Most people in the industry think that incentives "help a customer make up his mind faster". But Pradip Madhavji, a former president of the Travel Agents Association of India and now a consultant with Thomas Cook, is sceptical. "These cuts will have a negative impact on all the shareholders in the industry." His colleague Sunil Gupta, head of Thomas Cook's leisure division, thinks differently. He believes discounts are part of the ever-negotiable, low-margin travel business. "Indians are quite disaster proof and there will be no permanent drop in people's desire to travel or honeymoon in exotic places. I predict a growth of 15-20 per cent in December over the previous year."

South Africa Kenya thrown in The Dark Continent is a bright spot for visitors this year. Kenya and Dubai are being offered as free add-ons by tour operators in South African packages.

Such customer-friendly packages alone may not rope in enough business to offset the losses from the fall in foreign tourist arrivals but the hospitality industry in India sees them as blessings in disguise. So far, there has been a lack of well-structured packages for the domestic traveller. Those who revised strategies and began wooing the domestic tourist may emerge unscathed by the downturn.

The Bhargava family, Goa "This time it is Goa, next time we're heading to Kathmandu." Retired government employee R.P. Bhargava and family will go to Goa next month. Cost: Rs 5,000 per head for train fare, hotel and meals.

At the state level, Kerala and Rajasthan best illustrate the extremes. Both play host to a sizeable chunk of the 2.6 million foreign tourists who visit India every year. But the sharp drop in arrivals this year has done little or no damage to the industry in Kerala, while in Rajasthan it is bleeding. In the past few years, Kerala tourism authorities aggressively marketed the state as a year-round destination. If you didn't like its beaches, there were the backwaters. If you didn't like that either, there were the hills and the ayurveda therapies. The result: this year, the downslide in foreign tourists is more than offset by the hordes of cash-rich Gujaratis and Maharashtrians flocking to the state.

Nitu and Sunil Dua, Off to Australia & New Zealand " The price, the itinerary ... it just clicked perfectly." Sydney-Auckland cruise at Rs 2,400 per person per night. Normally, it costs around Rs 7,200.

But it will be quite a while before Rajasthan recovers from the shock of 2001. Barring a few exceptions, most heritage hotels and star properties have so far treated the domestic tourist as low spending nuisances and depended solely on the deep-pocketed foreigner to fill their coffers. It's just that there aren't too many this winter.

Rajasthan 50% off The tourist drought has forced hotels in the desert state to cut room tariffs by half in the peak season. Even the "Palace on Wheels" has scaled down its royal fare to realistic levels.

In Himachal Pradesh too, the downslide is writ all over. Ajit Butail, a leading Shimla hotelier, says tourist arrivals this winter have dipped to an all-time low. "It is not even half of last year's traffic." Hoteliers are wooing domestic tourists with discount bonanzas up to 70 per cent. There is a package for every pocket and segment-groups, families, honeymooners, senior citizens. Some hoteliers are even being kind to tipplers. One hotel offers a Rs 7,500 package that includes a four-days, three-nights stay, with all meals. And unlimited drinks.

While the industry grapples with a bad year, the Union Tourism Ministry is doing its bit to build in a margin of safety. At a meeting last week of the Group of Ministers on Tourism, newly appointed Union Tourism Minister Jagmohan outlined four issues which he believed the Government must resolve. They are:

Sri Lanka Free fall The Emerald Isle is attracting Indian tourists with amazing discounts and "buy one get one free" packages to counter its image as a war-torn country.

# slash the expenditure tax in hotels to make India a competitive and cheaper destination for tourists;
# lift the freeze on leave-travel allowance for government servants

# abolish the surcharge on aviation turbine fuel to make domestic flights cheaper; and
# implement the visa-on-arrival facility for visitors from 16 countries, on hold due to security reasons.

The minister's fingers are crossed now. But Amitabh Kant, joint secretary in the Union Tourism Ministry, is confident the crisis can be overcome. The man who, as tourism secretary in Kerala coined the God's Own Country slogan which firmly put the state on the world tourism map, says, "After the Gulf War, there was a 35 per cent slump in tourism in the country. Once tourism recovered, it touched record levels." The industry hopes that history repeats itself. Until then, it will be the Indian traveller who will be calling the shots.

-with Anna M.M. Vetticad, Natasha Israni and bureau reports
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