By Nirbhay Kumar New Delhi, May 12 (Representative) Indian holidayers are in no mood to hold their foreign travel plans despite a falling Indian rupee and high airfares that have made tour packages costlier. Top travel houses Thomas Cook (India), SOTC and Stic Travel said they continue to see high demand for both long and short-haul holiday destinations following the opening of regular international flights. The latest surge in fuel prices leading to higher airfares and depreciation in the rupee against the American dollar have failed to dampen their spirit. Speaking to UNI, Rajeev Kale, President and Country Head-Holidays, MICE, Visa, Thomas Cook (India), said the rupee movement was not a new phenomenon and travel was clearly a non-negotiable for Indians – more so with a strong pent up demand this year. “And our data indicates that the rupee has actually seen appreciation, albeit marginal, when compared to several global currencies, barring the US dollar. “Indians are smart travellers, and managing their travel budget involves a mere readjustment: curtailing expenses on shopping and dining in favour of must-do experiences and sightseeing,” he said.
Kale said that customers were also open to a shift in destinations to those that are easier on the wallet or countries where the rupee shows appreciation. As per Vested Finance, the rupee has depreciated by almost 4 per cent against the dollar in the current calendar year so far. On a downward spiral, the rupee on Thursday plunged 30 paise in early trade to hit an all-time low of 77.57 against the greenback. Higher jet fuel prices make air tickets expensive as airlines generally pass on the higher cost of fuel to consumers as fuel accounts for almost 40 per cent of their total operating cost. But given the lockdowns and movement restrictions in the wake of the pandemic, people are keen to go on vacation even if it weighs a bit heavy on the wallet.
“We continue to witness a significant uptick in demand for Europe and reopened short haul destinations with increased relaxation in restrictions like Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia; also South Africa wherein the value of the rupee to their respective currency has seen appreciation of value,” said Daniel D’Souza, President and Country Head-Holidays, SOTC Travel. Subhash Goyal, Founder Chairman of STIC Travel Group of Companies, said that there was a lot of revenge travel happening and all flights were flying full and demand continues to be huge for the summer travel season. He said that demand for short-haul destinations like Mauritius, the Maldives, Singapore and Thailand was quite good. “For traditional destinations like US, Canada and Switzerland, the demand has been steady,” Goyal said. After over two years of pandemic-induced hiatus, India resumed regular international flights in March. It also restored all valid five year e-tourist visa given to citizens of 156 countries and regular paper visa to nationals of all countries.