I know what you did last summer

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: Quick What mood are you in this summer?

Want to tan by the beach? Embark on a cruise? Go on an adventurous, treacherous trek? Surf the sea? Pamper yourself at one of the best spas in the Himalayas? Tuck in the most delectable delicacies? Or simply seek Nirvana in some sheltered corner?

Travel planners have all this and more. After enticing customers with exciting discounts on travel and hotel bookings clubbed together, they have now hot upon the novel idea of inveigling their customers with theme holiday packages. And with the ‘opening up’ of the Indian skies, even airlines such as British Airways, KLM, SAS and Qantas are holiday and business packages over and above special deals and convenient connections to gain an edge over competition edge.

Of course, the trend was kicked off when many Indian corporates threw their hats into the ‘holiday’ ring. Club Mahindra, the flagship brand of Mahindra Holidays and Resorts India, and Gold Flake Golden Getaways and Wills Holidays changed scene for Indian travelers both literally as well as figuratively.

What has happened recently is that a whole host of online players have joined the fray, taking the game at a different level altogether. The travel activity on the net is reflected in their media spending. Cleartrip.com, for instance, spent Rs 35 crore last fiscal and plans to jack up its media budget by 40% in 2007-8, mostly on TV. Makemytrip.com, likewise, launched a high voltage television campaign recently that guarantees a refund to customers who report dissatisfaction with its travel services. Its tagline “...Humne toda vaada toh pay only aadha,” is surely clutter-breaking, but its potential can only be realised if the company lives up to the commitment.

At present, although a maximum number of travel inquiries get generated from the metros—Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore and Chennai—mini metros like Secunderabad, Raipur, Nagpur, Aurangabad, Kolhapur etc, are also getting on the information highway to cut “one night free on every three-night-four-day package” kind of deals with the travel portals. “There is nothing like good deals to make them move out of their houses,” says a travel consultant.

Old wine in a new bottle did you say? But then these attractive packages are not just for foreign tourists are outbound travelers. The name of the game today is buying prepaid packages for domestic travelers, tailor-made to suit specific preferences in terms of destinations, hotels and sightseeing.