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The year 2013 is on its way out but are we really planning a blast to ring in the New Year? The good news is – Indians are still undeterred by the falling <keyword id="6355302" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="80" keywordseo="Rupee">rupee</keyword> and looking forward to outbound travel in the coming holidays, just like they did this summer. But the way they travel is definitely changing, according to a senior executive of a Delhi-based <keyword id="6607315" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="OTA">OTA</keyword>. Overseas travel no longer means the ritual rush through <keyword id="6357117" type="COMPANY" weightage="80" keywordseo="bangkok">Bangkok</keyword> or <keyword id="6356662" type="COUNTRY" weightage="80" keywordseo="Singapore">Singapore</keyword> – the global destinations closest to home and perhaps the least expensive. Of course, these places are not yet marked off the list, but the experienced and the well-heeled seem to have caught the travel bug of a different kind. 
 <keyword id="1960912" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Offbeat-destinations">Offbeat destinations</keyword> are getting increasingly popular among Indians, says Saurabh Srivastava, vice-president (marketing &amp; product strategy) at ixigo.com, a travel planning site and search engine that aggregates and curates travel information to help consumers. 
 “Of the 2.5 million visitors coming to our site month on month, we see some very clear and emerging trends. While the <keyword id="1960914" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Regular-overseas-travellers">regular overseas travellers</keyword> are increasingly looking at offbeat destinations to try out something different, first-timers or those who haven’t ventured outside the country too much, are still looking at <keyword id="1960915" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Popular-destinations">popular destinations</keyword> like Bangkok, Singapore, <keyword id="8695" type="COUNTRY" weightage="80" keywordseo="Malaysia">Malaysia</keyword> and <keyword id="6355478" type="COUNTRY" weightage="80" keywordseo="Australia">Australia</keyword> – the main attractions being <keyword id="6396451" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="beaches">beaches</keyword>, <keyword id="60543" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Water-sports">water sports</keyword> and <keyword id="6368952" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="shopping">shopping</keyword>,” he observes. 
 We have talked to a number of <keyword id="722880" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="travel-agencies">travel agencies</keyword> and rounded up 12 out-of-the-ordinary (but up and coming) places that people are closely following (and booking) these holidays. Here is a quick look at each of them with a glimpse of the local flavour and the basic cost per person on a twin-sharing basis. However, costs are only indicative and are bound to change, depending on your <keyword id="472754" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Tour-schedule">tour schedule</keyword>, quality of <keyword id="6358762" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Package">package</keyword>, customisation and service provider. Also, prices may fluctuate as dates get closer. 
 Try planning a holiday if you love these destinations too. Just remember, sometimes, the best travel happens farthest from <keyword id="823132" type="ENTERTAINMENT" weightage="80" keywordseo="home-and-away">home and away</keyword> from your everyday ambience. Catch the sun on a <keyword id="1553372" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="foreign-soil">foreign soil</keyword> this New Year and bon voyage!

Want To Vacation Abroad? These 12 Places Are Creating The
Buzz These Holidays

<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><a href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/13-october-2017-ngong-ping-360-766218409?src=F9aFDBCZaoGSmpLXqpzMHg-2-91">im_Chanaphat / Shutterstock</a></div></div></div><ul class="summary-list"><li>Hong Kong this week approved plans to build one of the world's largest artificial islands in an attempt to improve its <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/hong-kong-housing-crisis-james-law-cybertectures-tube-homes-2018-5">escalating housing crisis</a>. </li><li>The massive project is estimated to cost nearly $HK624 billion ($80 billion), which the government says will help move population density away from already crowded areas. </li><li>Still, critics say the proposal is too expensive and could have devastating long-term effects on the environment. </li></ul>Hong Kong this week approved plans to build one of the world's largest artificial islands in an attempt to improve its <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/hong-kong-housing-crisis-james-law-cybertectures-tube-homes-2018-5">escalating housing crisis</a>. On Tuesday, the Hong Kong government <a href="https://www.devb.gov.hk/tc/publications_and_press_releases/press/index_id_10319.html">revealed</a> the proposed budget for the project of nearly $HK624 billion ($80 billion), which it says will help move population density away from already crowded areas. The project, deemed <a href="https://www.lantau.gov.hk/download/leaflet_e1.pdf" data-link-name="in body link">Lantau Vision Tomorrow</a>, is slated to begin in 2025, and will create 2,500 acres of land for housing use off Lantau, Hong Kong's largest island.The manmade islands will provide land for up to 400,000 housing units, with more than 70% of them reserved for public housing. It will also provide cross-sea transportation linking the islands to Lantau, Tuen Mun and Hong Kong Island.Hong Kong has been voted the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/most-expensive-cities-to-live-in-2019-1">least affordable city in the world for nine years in a row</a>. Proposals have previously been floated to alleviate the cost of living on the island, though to little effect. Read more: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/hong-kong-world-record-most-expensive-parking-spot-2018-6">A Hong Kong couple bought a single parking space for $433,000 and flipped it for $760,000 in just 9 months</a>And while the Lantau Vision plan has received praise for tackling the housing crisis, critics of the proposal say it will not only be an expensive endeavor, but it may also come at the expense of the environment. Save Lantau, a lobbying group, has spoken out against the project and the impact it may have on the region. "(This) will be the most expensive, complex and riskiest infrastructure project in Hong Kong's history," the group said, according to <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2019/03/20/asia/hong-kong-lantau-artificial-island-intl/index.html">CNN</a>. The group has also stated the cost of the project may far exceed the government's proposed budget, and could cripple Hong Kong financially. According to the <a href="https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/hong-kong-economy/article/3002583/lantau-tomorrow-vision-arguably-hong-kongs-most">South China Morning Post</a>, opposition lawmaker Eddie Chu Hoi-dick said the government's estimated costs are misleading, and the final bill could cost more than $HK1 trillion ($127 billion) if inflation was to be considered. <div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image">REUTERS/Tyrone SiuHong Kong is one of the most densely populated places on the planet.</div></div></div>Environmental groups have also raised red flags about the project, and said viable alternatives should be considered before undertaking the massive building project. Greenpeace Hong Kong said in a <a href="http://www.greenpeace.org/hk/press/releases/others/2019/03/reclamation-reactive/">statement</a> that the government was not considering other options that could be more affordable and better for the environment. They proposed the use of brownfield sites, former industrial land, as an alternative to creating an entirely new island. "Compared with reclamation, the brownfields have high public support and the cost is cheaper than reclamation," Zhu Jiang, senior project director of Greenpeace Hong Kong, said in the statement. And according to the <a href="https://www.wwf.org.hk/en/news/featuredstories/?21121/No-need-to-pave-paradise-1200-hectares-for-Hong-Kong-housing-is-available-right-now">World Wildlife Fund</a>, there is nearly 3,000 acres of brownfield land that could be used for public housing instead. "Speeding up the resumption of these brownfield sites and devising a fair compensation mechanism for planned development projects would ease the short-term housing problem without sacrificing our precious natural areas." <div class="margin-top"> <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/black-hole-travel-space-galaxy-2019-3">Physicists have discovered that rotating black holes might serve as portals for hyperspace travel</a></h3> <div> </div> </div>

Hong Kong is about to spend $80 billion on an artificial island to solve its housing crisis - but critics say it may come at the expense of the environment

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Want To Vacation Abroad? These 12 Places Are Creating The Buzz These Holidays

Sanghamitra Mandal

Hong Kong is about to spend $80 billion on an artificial island to solve its housing crisis - but critics say it may come at the expense of the environment

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