CHENNAI: A trip to the sun-kissed beaches of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands or a sojourn among the snow-capped mountains in Jammu and Kashmir has become costlier. The Goods and Services Tax ( GST ), which kicked in on July 1, has pushed the cost of travel packages to the two dream destinations up.Ramakrishnan, a Port Blair-base tour operator, said the cost had increased by at least 30%. “A four days and five night package, which cost Rs 7,000 per head, has now shot up to Rs 10,000 due to the fallout of GST for various services, including food and travel. We get good domestic crowd from across the country. But, bookings for October have dropped by 60%, particularly from Chennai, as many feel travelling to Southeast Asian countries is a better option than visiting Andaman and Nicobar Islands with the current package tariff,” he said. The picture for the next season was not encouraging, he added.S R Rakoo, another operator from the Andamans , said many were trying to reduce transport charges to tide over the crisis. The travel industry which was busy during the same period last year is now relatively dull. “Our place is largely dependent on tourism for revenue. However, GST has hit our business and we are absorbing a cut in the profits to maintain the footfall,” added Rakoo, who is participating in the ongoing India International Travel Mart here.Those planning a trip to the northern paradise will have to cough up at least 5% more. Jammu and Kashmir tourism deputy director Peerzada Zahoor Ahmad said a tourist spending an average of Rs 10,000 may have to shell out Rs 500 more. “It is just a marginal rise and we are sure GST will not have any adverse impact on the tourism sector in our state,” he said. Each year, between 5% and 6% of the visitors to the state are from Tamil Nadu with the graph steadily growing in the last five years, he added.Hoteliers in Puducherry too are complaining of increase in taxes. “With the taxes have doubled by 9%, our regular business travellers are exploring other accommodation with lesser tariff,” said P Narasimhan, regional sales manager of a chain of hotels. On the other hand, some hoteliers at Madurai have reduced tariff to under Rs 7,500 to give relief for occupants from paying 28% under the new tax regime.