For Mr V. Satish, the summer of 2012 promised to be different. He had decided to take his family on the dream trip to Europe. However, his plans had to be altered when he realised the trip cost went way beyond the estimated budget. He finally had to settle for Thailand and Malaysia.

Depreciating rupee

Many travellers like him either settled for a trip nearer home or planned a trip to a domestic destination. The spoilsport was the depreciating rupee which is down 25 per cent against the dollar over the year. As a consequence, international travel fares have gone up by 20-25 per cent.

For instance, a Europe trip that cost Rs 40,000 earlier is now around Rs 60,000 now. Simply put, every thing bought abroad is now 20 per cent more expensive.

On the positive side, domestic tourism has seen an impressive growth. Destinations like Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Leh have witnessed a robust growth in tourism flow this summer. Travel agencies that Business Line spoke to said that there has been a huge demand for domestic packages, even though surging airfares in the domestic routes continue to be a challenge.

“Domestic tourism has recorded a rise of 30-40 per cent in bookings as compared to last year. The most popular domestic destinations include Kashmir, Himachal, Ladakh and North East,” said Mr Krishan Singh, head of domestic holidays, Yatra.com. Thomas Cook said it has seen an upward trend of over 30 per cent in the domestic business this season.

West-bound travel bookings have seen a dip. “Due to the rising exchange rates, consumers are looking at options that are closer to home. For a consumer looking for international travel, some are opting for destinations to South-East Asia which are closer to home and relatively cheaper,” Mr Raja Natesan, COO, TUI India.

Interestingly, destinations like Rajasthan and Kerala that usually see a weak demand in summer have benefitted this season and also short-haul vacations to South-East destinations.

“We see a lot more searches for destinations like Bali and Phuket,” said Mr Jackson Fernandez, GM - India, Wego.co.in.

>niveditag@thehindu.co.in

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