New Delhi, Aug 12 - An extended weekend is coming up with Janmashtami and Independence Day leading up to a Sunday, but what could have been a perfect three-day getaway to a nearby holiday destination has found few takers because of the swine flu scare.

'The new travel bookings for the upcoming weekend has definitely taken a beating because of the swine flu scare,' Ashish Kishore, head of hotels and retail business of Yatra.com, a travel portal, told IANS.

Offering a range of holiday packages 'to suit every budget', Yatra has designed two night-three days getaways to more than 15 destinations within a travel distance of five-six hours from Delhi and some beyond that.

'We are offering two nights-three days getaways for this weekend to a number of places like Almora, Nainital, Jaipur and Mussoorie. Besides these we are also offering getaways to Goa, Ooty and Lonavala,' Kishore said.

However, the number of those keen on these packages have been few.

Gour Kanjilal, executive director of the Indian Association of Tour Operators (IATO), said the influenza A (H1N1) scare has affected the travel plans of a lot of people.

'Tourism has always been a psychological product and the fear for swine flu has definitely affected people's travel plans. People are scared to venture out to mass gatherings and even to festival gatherings like that of Janmasthami, so forget about weekend getaways,' Kanjilal told IANS.