The great Indian outbound summer travel season couldn’t get better than this. It’s not just devaluation of euro that has made travel to the European destinations cheaper but it’s the weakening of other currencies too that has made overseas travel attractive for Indians. Sample this: While last year in May average exchange rate hovered around Rs 75 for a pound, this year it has witnessed a dip of almost 10%, US dollar is also cheaper by 5%. While the maximum fall has been for euro with the currency almost 15% cheaper this May as compared to a year-ago period, dip in Swiss Franc, Switzerland being a popular holiday destination, has also been significant to the tune of 10%. This means that Indian travelers can shop more abroad on their holidays and avail cheaper hotels. An upbeat travel sentiment coupled with cheaper euro, dollar and pound, has of course translated into better business for travel companies.
May-June is the peak season for outbound leisure travel, with Europe, UK and US being popular destinations. The appreciation of rupee against major currencies being an advantage for the discerning traveler and tour companies. Says Cox & Kings head of relationships and supplier management, Karan Anand, ?The strengthening of rupee against the euro and the pound has had a positive impact for Indians traveling overseas as this straight away has led to reduction in travel cost by 10-15%. At the same time travel bookings have gone up for tour companies benefiting tour operators.? Though he points out that it’s too early to get an exact fix on the increase in numbers. In 2009, there were around 10.5 million outbound travelers. Of this, 60% of holiday traffic travels abroad during April-July period. According to estimates, there is a jump of around 25% this season.
What’s even better is that travelers are making the best use of savings and better purchasing power. ?People are now adding more places to their Europe trip,? says Kashmira Commissariat, COO- outbound division, Kuoni India. Also a weaker foreign currency means cheaper accommodation and more money to splurge on shopping and dining. Online players too have seen a jump in the number of packages sold this year. For instance travel portal Travelguru has registered around 17% growth in outbound packages sold in April-May this year as compared to the same period last year.
Ash clouds and unrest in Thailand though impacted travel business to an extent, but things are back on track and look bright now, say tour operators. ?Travel agents have of course been benefited because of the greater volumes, as more holiday packages are being sold. Customers are flocking to Europe, UK and US as it is now more affordable. Even though inbound tourism continues to suffer, but then it’s anyway a lull season for foreign arrivals,? says Rajinder Rai, president, Travel Agents Association of India (TAAI). Though a tour company points out, ?Since we pay for hotels in foreign currency, the impact is not very significant on margins. But customers pay in Indian currency so it’s definitely a win-win situation for them.?
While UK, US and European destinations have become more attractive, Australia, which also receives fair amount of Indian tourists especially honeymooners, has become expensive with Australian dollar appreciating by almost 13% vis-a-vis rupee in May as compared to the corresponding period last year.