A promotional campaign from Kesari Tours and Travels Pvt. Ltd reads: "Oil prices down, tour prices down." Using this as a platform, the Mumbai-based tour management firm is offering discounts on international and domestic holiday deals.

The print advertisement of Lifestyle Holidays reads: "The global recession has come to our doorsteps. It's time to save, not spend. But what about that vacation you promised your family?" "Airlines, travel agents, on line travel agents and tour operators are offering freebies to their customers as slowdown has started affecting the market. Besides ensuring continuous revenue inflow, companies are trying to beat recessionary trends," said Sameer Patil, head of marketing at Arzoo.com, a city-based online travel agency, or OTA.

However, it is not just the private sector that is offering all the goodies; governments of countries that have large revenues from tourism are also pitching in with the effort to boost travel.

The Thai consulate in India is exempting visa fees on tourist visas and visas for medical treatment. Mint has reviewed a circular issued by the Thai consulate-general in Mumbai, dated 24 February.

"Earlier, Royal Thai Consulate was charging Rs1,400 per person (as visa fee). You can see similar attempts by various consulates to woo tourists," said an analyst who tracks hospitality and aviation, on condi tion of anonymity.

"Airlines, domestic and international, are also doing their best by lowering fares and offering special schemes.

As the travellers are cutting down their budget, these players are trying to beat the slowdown blues by offering free bies," the analyst said.

The promotions come as the domestic aviation industry has stumbled in the wake of the global downturn. Eight scheduled airline firms in the country, such as National Aviation Co. of India Ltd, which runs Air India, and SpiceJet Ltd, carried 12.78 million passengers between October and January, down from 15.35 million during the year-ago period. This period is considered to be the busy season in India as domestic travellers and foreign tourists travel for festivals such as Diwali and Christmas, and during winter vacations.