With the trend of micro tourism picking up, travellers discover vineyards, dams with adventure sports, and secluded beaches in Tamil Nadu

Micro tourism is a trend where travellers visit destinations that are just a short drive away and preferably in the same State

The vineyard, punctuated with lush clusters of purple grapes, is hemmed in by mountains. Tourists mill about, glasses in hand. But this isn’t Bordeaux, and the glasses are filled with grape juice. 

Welcome to Cumbum, a small town in Tamil Nadu that brims with grape farms. Lately, vineyard tourism has picked up here. A Manoharan, who runs MSR Grapes Garden on the Kollam-Theni highway, says his vineyard receives nearly 1,000 visitors a day. Attributing the increase in footfall to the pandemic-induced suspension of international flights, he says a lot of domestic tourists now visit his 35-acre vineyard. “In the last year-and-a-half I have noticed a 30% increase in tourists from Tamil Nadu,” he says.

The pandemic has given rise to micro tourism, a trend where travellers visit destinations that are just a short drive away and preferably in the same State. For intrepid holidaymakers of Tamil Nadu, it has given them the opportunity to discover the road less travelled, a road the jet set earlier ignored.

After COVID-19 hit, there has been an increase in domestic tourism, says Sandeep Nanduri, Director of Tourism and Managing Director of Tamil Nadu Tourism Development Corporation, adding that they are now working on promoting lesser-known destinations. “We are developing adventure campsites in 15 destinations such as Dharmapuri, Jawadhu hills, Courtallam and Mudaliarkuppam,” says Nanduri.

There is a slew of new introductions too. Among the plans being firmed up is heli-tourism, which will be introduced in Kodaikanal and Rameswaram over the next few months. Also, stay tuned for a 3D show at Arjuna’s Penance in Mamallapuram, which will debut in four months. “The duration of the show will be 20-25 minutes. The story will be projected on the surface of the monument, and through it we are trying to show the history of the Pallava dynasty in Mamallapuram. A similar show will take place at the Thiruvalluvar statue in Kanyakumari,” he adds.

With people looking for options in their backyard, plantation tourism too is seeing takers. “People visit tea, coffee, cardamom plantations in places like Meghamalai, Pollachi and Valparai, understand how these are grown, and then stay the night in the plantation,” explains Nanduri.

Chennai-based photographer Karthik Srinivasan, who posted pictures of his hometown Cumbum on social media last month, says, “Nearly 15 of my friends planned a road trip to the exact same places after seeing my photographs. These are people who love driving as the roads there are beautiful to drive on” he adds.