Delhi smog: ‘Escape tourism’ gain popularity; people rush to beach destinations

Smog has given birth to a new kind of tourism called ‘escape travel’. Given the high amount of seasonal air pollution levels in north India, a new phenomenon of ‘escape’ tourism has emerged wherein people have been seen rushing to beach destinations to escape poor quality air and smog.

In winters, the air pollution triggers the formation of smog across north India, especially Delhi-NCR. Stubble burning is also one of the prime reasons for smog.

This ultimately causes breathing issues in residents and increases air pollution to toxic levels. All these reasons have contributed to residents of these areas booking trips to beach-side attractions and more green spaces. Recently, cities like Goa, Andaman and Lakshadweep have garnered immense traction.

Tour and travel agencies have seen a hike in escape tourism trends and people booking their tickets for places like Goa. The residents living in cities especially Delhi NCR are facing manmade calamities which are major concerns. The travel operators are also seeing a spike in the number of queries for short trips to places like Shimla, Jaipur and Nainital, among others.

Given the deteriorating air quality and smog, people are looking out for options where pollution is not an issue. For information, AQI between zero and 50 is good, 51 and 100 satisfactory, 101 and 200 moderate, 201 and 300 poor, 301 and 400 very poor, and 401 and 500 severe.

Delhi is suffering from ‘very poor’ air quality as of now and the Ministry of Earth Sciences’ forecast agency SAFAR has predicted that the quality will deteriorate further in the coming two days. According to the agency, the quality will start to improve from November 13. On Tuesday, Delhi’s AQI was 404 at 4 PM.