Hollywood Movie Inspires “Divorce Tourism” Industry in India

The short-lived comedy “Couples Retreat” follows four American couples who travel to a tropical island to rekindle their marriages. Some enterprising Indian travel agents saw the movie and decided to start promoting divorce tourism packages for Indian couples. The package includes an exotic getaway and the services of a marriage counselor. Indian couples are usually unaware that they are on a divorce tour – the packages are usually paid for by a concerned friend or relative, and the marriage counselor pretends to be a travel guide with a lot of wise insight into marriage.

Probably because divorce is considered shameful in India, the country has one of the lowest divorce rates in the world, around 1%, compared to 50% in the US. But divorce is becoming more common between young urban couples, sparking a cottage industry of legal help and divorcee dating services. The new tourism promotion is expected to provide a small bump to Indian tourism, which has suffered from a bad economy, terrorist attacks, and now the H1N1 (swine flu) virus. Other specialty tourism packages offered by enterprising Indian travel agents include medical tourism, religious journeys, and even a “Slumdog Millionaire” tour of Mumbai’s shanty towns. Find out more unusual Indian tour packages at A New Indian Travel Fad: “Divorce Tourism”.

If your marriage is headed for divorce, please contact one of our expert Family Law Attorneys for legal counsel.