Calcutta, Feb. 5: The turmoil in Egypt has forced Calcuttans eyeing a trip to Nile country to change their plans, with Australia, Mauritius and Southeast Asia emerging as alternative destinations.

Egypt, described as a “mesmerising destination” by travel portals and tour operators, had become a hotspot for tourists from Calcutta over the past few years. But several honeymooners and group and individual tourists have now changed their minds.

“A few hundred people have already cancelled their Egypt trips. Many others who had booked packages during the summer holidays have put their plans on hold,” said Anil Punjabi, the eastern region chairman of the Travel Agents Federation of India.

Travel industry sources said around 6,000 people from the city had visited the north African nation in 2010, and a similar number annually for the past several years.

“Because of good air connectivity, Cairo had become a hot destination,” said Sanjoy Sett, the managing director of Globe Forex and Travels Ltd.

Bharat and Shradha Adiani, who got married on January 25, said they had cancelled their planned honeymoon in Egypt because of the uprising against President Hosni Mubarak.

“We had heard so much about the pyramids, the Nile and the other exotic locations in Egypt. We were looking forward to our trip there,” Bharat, a Calcutta-based businessman, said.

“But we had to cancel our trip. It is extremely dangerous to go there now.”

Bharat and Shradha will now head for Thailand.

“The trouble in Egypt has come as a spoiler,” agreed Punjabi.

He said Australia, New Zealand, Mauritius, Hong Kong and Dubai were the most popular alternative destinations, especially for honeymooners. Southeast Asia, particularly Thailand, was an “evergreen destination” and several people were opting for it, he added.

Asked why these places had emerged as alternative destinations, Punjabi said: “These countries are peaceful and also offer a lot of sightseeing options. Moreover, the tour cost to many of these places is similar to that for Egypt.”

Punjabi added: “Last year, we had sent a good number of FITs (free individual travellers) to Egypt.”

Under the packages for FITs, tour operators only book plane tickets and hotels. The tourists undertake sightseeing on their own and pay for that directly from their own pockets.

The sales head of the Calcutta branch of a multinational firm said that as part of incentives for high-performing dealers, the company used to send them to Egypt on “leisure trips”. He said the company sponsored the trips.

“But now, there is no question of sending our dealers there,” he added.

According to tour operators, a cruise on the Nile and a visit to the pyramids feature high on the itinerary of tourists in Egypt.

“The Nile cruise is also popular among those organising medical and business conferences,” a tour operator said.

Surgical oncologist Gautam Mukhopadhyay, who had planned a vacation in Cairo this May, said: “We have dropped our plans. My daughter Aishwarya was particularly excited about the trip as she is keenly interested in Egypt’s history and reads a lot about it.”