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A holiday abroad may burn a deeper hole in your pocket due to rupee depreciation, but you can still go on your dream vacation if you plan the destination properly. With the Australian and New Zealand dollar remaining flat against the Indian rupee, travel firms are cashing in on these destinations to boost outbound travel from India.
Spotting the growing potential of the destinations, UK-based travel firm Trafalgar will roll out its Australia and New Zealand tour itineraries from September this year for Indian travellers. Tour costs for these destinations have remained steady even as costs of European tour packages have gone up by 20 per cent.
The travel firm that entered the Indian market three years ago specialises in guided holidays to Europe and Britain. Last year, it entered into a partnership with Cox and Kings and Flight Shop, among others, to tap into the Indian market.
“The slowdown impact is being felt in the travel sector. Also, the rupee depreciation coupled with onset of off-season has led to a drop in demand,” said Nicholas Lim, President, Asia, Trafalgar.
According to the latest findings of industry body Assocham, Indian tourist outflow has registered a significant decline of 15-20 per cent in the last two months due to rupee depreciation.
Travel firms are now pinning their hopes on other affordable destinations and offering special packages to woo travellers. Trafalgar’s new Australia and New Zealand itineraries come in three sections – full tours starting from six to 10 days, mini stays for three to four days.
The firm expects about 10 per cent growth from the India market this year and currently offers its tour packages for Indian travellers through the distribution channels of its seven retail partners.
“The Australian dollar has been relatively stable apropos the Indian rupee for the past few months and we continue to see a strong demand for holidays to Australia from India,” said Nishant Kashikar, Country Manager India, Tourism Australia.
Madhavan Menon, Managing Director, Thomas Cook (India), said, “The Australian dollar has seen not merely stability, but interestingly a drop (Rs 57.22 on April 12 to Rs 53.93 July 25, 2013), and certainly a clear upside that we plan to leverage for the upcoming season.”
India is currently Australia’s 10th largest inbound tourism market for visitor arrivals. There were 14,300 visitors from India during June 2013, a 20 per cent increase over June 2012, bringing the total for the six months to June to 85,000, an increase of 6 per cent relative to the same period previous year. The Tourism Forecasting Council predicts 1.75 lakh arrivals from India to Australia in 2013-14.
The launch of the direct service from Air India on the Delhi-Sydney-Melbourne route, scheduled to commence from August 29 is expected to provide a good impetus for outbound travel to Australia.
According to Mohit Gupta, Chief Business Officer-Holidays, MakeMyTrip, “Maldives with new direct-flight connections has also become a lot more accessible and affordable for passengers from India. Also, there is greater demand for destinations such as Vietnam, Cambodia, Prague and China. We are also witnessing a healthy growth in activity-oriented trips and experiential travel this holiday season.”
Other currencies that have shown stability against the rupee are Norwegian Krone, Malaysian Ringgit, Thai Baht, Mauritian rupee from June to July.
>Nivedita.ganguly@thehindu.co.in
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