This summer, Indians want to backpack to Russia, Brazil or South Africa, taking advantage of the fall in the currencies of these countries against the Indian rupee. These countries are on top of leisure travellers’ list, with their currencies recording fall of 11.87-33.43 per cent during the past five years.

The Russian rouble fell the most, at 33.43 per cent, the Brazilian real by 25.27 per cent, the South African rand 23.26 per cent and the Malaysian ringgit by 11.87 per cent, between April 2012 and March 2017.

“These are not the most sought-after destinations, usually, but because of the depreciation of these currencies, tourist traffic has increased for sure as packet prices are substantially cheaper. The fall in currencies has attracted travellers, though this is not the only reason,” Anil Khandelwal, Chief Financial Officer, Cox & Kings, said.

Lucrative deals For instance, though in the last one year (April 2016-March 2017), the rouble has bounced back 13.23 per cent, and real by 13.23 per cent, traveller interest has not flagged.

The fall in ringgit by 13.44 per cent “over the last year and in the previous five years is definitely providing a big push for deal hunters to Malaysia. But looking at the longer tenure of five years of currency fall, Russia — a country which was generally ignored by Indians — is emerging as one of the most preferred destinations,” said Alex K Babu, Managing Director at wealth management company Hedge Group.

Mirroring the sentiments, Sandhya Kartha of travel firm Redchilli Holidays, said Indian tourists seem to far more aware of the rupee advantage this time around.

Europe calling With euro dropping 7.29 per cent during the last one year, Europe continues to beckon Indian tourists. The pound trading lower by 14.24 per cent from April 2016-March 2017, and dollar down by 1.98 per cent, have boosted enquiries to the UK and the US.

But there are other reasons for travelling to Europe. “Europe has been historically the most-favoured destination, as Indians love to travel to cold countries, while Asian countries generally have the Indian climate during this time of the year,” Hedge Group’s Babu said.

Further, Indian movies also play a part in promoting these destinations, especially Switzerland, said Cox & Kings’ Khandelwal.

Rakshit Desai, Managing Director, FCM Travel Solutions, said, “Favourable exchange rates and lower airfares have led the UK to become a strong market this summer where we have seen a 20 per cent growth compared to last year. The weak sterling is giving Indian travellers good value for their holidays in leisure travel this year.”

A definite answer would emerge only by the end of the season, that’s by July 30.

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