Thursday, May 03, 2007

The New Indian Traveller

The ordinary Indian has rarely been adventurous in his eating habits, especially when travelling to far-off places. I have seen friends packing their rice, lentils, spices, and Mom's home-made pickles while travelling to the USA for higher studies or for a new-found job during the 80s. Travel agents even now advertise Gujarati and Jain food options for customers as a part of package tours to the US and Europe.

Therefore, it was a interesting to see a recent article in the Economic Times about the new Indian travellers:

"It could be a platter of smoked Scottish salmon, a sampling of foie gras or a dinner of fugu fish that the Indian traveller now looks out for, a far cry from the times he would scout around for dal and chawal in every part of the world.

Exotic fares, luxury foods, even those that are highly priced, are in huge demand among... (those) who jet set across the world. Food is an important part of the itinerary for many and it's the local fare they relish. And when they are back home in India, their food preferences are never the same again. "

So I have company now. High time too!

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Wish you a very Happy B'day!
...heres to a great life,good health,more money,travel, amusing blogs and of course many more exotic culinary experiences!!!

Shantanu said...

Welcome to my blog, Kapil! And thanks for the wishes.

Sank said...

Just stay out of Rain Forest Cafe and you'll be fine!

Shantanu said...

Sank: Ha, ha, you are going to run Rainforest Cafe out of business!

Prerona said...

personally i think the reason indians, specially students, always stuck to asian food was more economical than otherwise :)

Shantanu said...

@ricercar: Welcome to my blog! Hmmm...never thought of that :)

Unknown said...

Hi! I'm from a company called Globus & Cosmos, we are the world's largest coach touring company. We recently conducted a survey across india on the evolution of the indian traveller and found alarming new results. Could you tell me when this article came out in the economic times? Thanks!