Madrasa Suthi Paaka Poren

Parveen Travels, a popular tour operator has unveiled plans to offer hop-on hop-off bus tour in Chennai.

Parveen's facility plans to cover popular landmarks in the city such as Music Academy, Ashtalakshmi Temple, Kalakshetra, Birla Planetarium and Fort St. George.

"Usually, foreign tourists visit the city only as part of a travel package and spend about 10- 15 minutes seeing each of these places. As they stay in five-star hotels outside the city, sightseeing within the city is difficult," Mr Afzal said.

To help tourists explore Chennai, the company will initially ply three 35-seater air-conditioned buses through various sightseeing spots and heritage centres.

The company has devised an itinerary so that there would be a bus at these locations every hour.

Although open top bus tours are popular in western cities like London, it remains to be seen whether the hop-on hop-off concept can click in Chennai. Western cities are more organized and tourists can find their way using Lonely Planet guides and other travel brochures. In places like Chennai, the foreign tourists might need the assistance of tourist guides to get around. By using established travel agencies / approved travel guides, the tourists can avoid being fleeced by touts at the particular tourist attraction.