Rail-cum-road tours big draw for tourists

V Ayyappan | TNN  Sept 8, 2008 Chennai: With domestic air fares shooting up, the rail-cumroad tours have become a big draw among tourists coming to Tamil Nadu. Tourists who arrive from Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Jaipur and Ahmedabad by train are then transferred to buses for guided sightseeing tours.      “We have good bookings for this season. All the tours scheduled for October, November and December have been booked. We are also planning to operate a special tour on October 7. The rail-cum-road tours are popular because the corporation takes care of the tourists from the start till the end,” said a tourism department official.      Such tours are unique to the state and are becoming more popular among people from Kolkata. More than 200 people from West Bengal have booked this season for the rail-cumroad tour, the highest number for the year compared to bookings from other cities.      Encouraged by the response, Tamil Nadu Tourism Development Corporation (TTDC) held a promotional campaign in Kolkata to attract more tourists to the state.      “We showcased the destinations that are available in the state. The travel industry’s response was good. Many have expressed interest to market Tamil Nadu. We are planning to appoint agents to book tour packages because one tourist office may not be able to meet the demand,” said managing director of TTDC M Rajaram.      Close to 487 tourists from Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Jaipur, Ahmedabad and Bangalore have booked tours between April to October 2008.