Encouraged by the popularity of Bollywood hit Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara (ZNMD), there has been a surge in the number of Indians heading to Spain, according to a Hindu Business Line report by Nivedita Ganguly. “We have witnessed a substantial increase in the enquiries as well as booked holidays for Spain after the destination was promoted in the popular Bollywood movie. For instance, with the popularity of Spain, we have started getting queries for destinations like Costa Brava, Seville, Pamplona, Barcelona and Valencia (that were) featured in the movie,” said Kashmira Commissariat, COO — Outbound Division, Kuoni India.
To cater to the growing response, tour operator SOTC recently introduced a seven-day Spain package, highlighting the La Tomatina festival. SOTC, the outbound travel segment of Kuoni, claims to be the first Indian travel company to organise a trip to the festival, made popular in India by the movie. La Tomatina is a festival that is held in the southern Spanish town of Buñol, in which participants throw tomatoes at each other. It is held on the last Wednesday in August, a tradition that goes back to 1945.