Peripatetic Indian travellers, brought up on a dose of weak currency against the more powerful dollar, pound or euro, now have good reasons to cheer.
New destinations like Philippines and its capital Manila have emerged as a favourite destination, thanks to the country’s weaker currency, making travel relatively inexpensive. A senior official of Club7 Holidays, an arm of the Centrum Group, told Financial Chronicle that while Bangkok is an old favourite of Indian tourists, both for the individuals as well as groups, Manila has come up in a big way recently, particularly for groups. “From our side, nearly 300-350 groups visited Manila last year, which is a significant jump. And it’s true with other travels and tours companies also. This is becoming increasingly popular because the country has a weaker currency, which travellers take advantage of once they are there,” the official says.
“Besides, Manila offers excellent night life and there are a number of good Indian restaurants offering exotic Indian foods,” the official adds.
The Philippine currency peso’s advantage vis-à-vis Thailand baht in the context of rupee is another factor why travelling Indians prefer Manila to Bangkok. As on Monday’s exchange rate, one peso is equal to Rs 1.29. Whereas one Thai bath equals Rs 1.89. Philippines, as a destination, has also been boosted by a recent decision of the Thailand government, which has imposed stricter VISA norms, making it mandatory to carry $750, irrespective of your need.
Falling hotel rates combined with a favourable currency movement has made several destinations cheaper for the Indian traveller. Sudarshan Motwani, CEO and co-founder, BookMyForex, confirms the trend. “Summer is the largest season for outbound travel and it is in March that most travellers plan their vacations and book their hotels and flights. The Indian rupee has appreciated five per cent against the US dollar since November. While this itself will make international travel cheaper, there are several other currencies which have depreciated against the US dollar and travel to such countries has become significantly cheaper.”
Among the currencies of most popular overseas destinations, the UK pound has depreciated 18.47 per cent against Indian rupee compared to levels in last June, Euro 7.8 per cent, Canadian dollar 8 per cent and Singapore dollar 7.27 per cent. “Many popular destinations that tourists are opting to travel to also happen to be in the list of those destinations where the local currency has depreciated against the dollar, such as US, UK etc. Due to this, travel service providers are inevitably promoting these destinations for summer travel. Some newer and upcoming destinations have also made it to this list, which include Egypt, Turkey and Philippines. Philippines in particular is an upcoming tourist destination, with an 8 per cent currency depreciation (against the US dollar) observed over the last year, making it a much more affordable choice than earlier,” points out Aloke Bajpai, CEO and co- founder of ixigo.
He adds: “We have seen a 16 per cent increase in international travel queries, with currency development certainly being a contributing factor. Clients are willing to explore new destinations and stay due to a favourable currency. A dip in hotel prices along with lowered costs of food, travel and sightseeing, most definitely attract tourists to extend their trips. They can stay longer at no additional cost as compared to say a year ago.” Added to this is the fact that flight fares too have dropped from last year.
Hotel accommodation is a major component in the travel budget and falling hotel rates have been luring the traveller to a certain destination. “We have definitely seen an increased interest in outbound travel amongst Indian travellers. In fact, the top 50 and top 100 lists in outbound category of Hotel Price Index revealed that many new destinations were becoming increasingly popular. The decreased hotel rates made the destinations only more viable for Indians who were already contemplating outbound travel.
In five of the 10 top destinations —UK, UAE, Singapore, France and Italy —travellers paid comparatively less in 2016 as compared to 2015, underlining that demonetisation did little to dampen wanderlust in India,” says Zoe Chan, head of PR, Asia Pacific, Hotels.com.
TripAdvisor also has come up with a list of destinations —both popular and emerging ones —for Indians to explore this year. Hotel rates in Turkey have dropped 27 per cent this year against last year. Taiwan is down 11 per cent, Cambodia 9 per cent and Indonesia 6 per cent. The average room-night rate in a new destination like Belize is down 32 per cent.
“The price conscious Indian traveller is always looking for ways to find the best prices to book, along with saving on time and effort. According to our hotel shopping data, some destinations offer significant hotel value this year compared to last year that includes the Caribbean, which is one of the most popular hotel shopping destinations on TripAdvisor and has seen an eight per cent dip in hotel prices, making it a perfect time for Indians to book a dream trip there. However, for those not willing to go that far, Taiwan, Cambodia, Sri Lanka, Indonesia and Philippines are great options considering their proximity to India,” explains Nikhil Ganju, country manager, TripAdvisor India.
Apart from currency fluctuation, local factors like Brexit in the UK have brought down the business sentiments. Likewise, the bomb blast in Turkey hit the hospitality industry as well. “The addition of hotel capacity has been one main reasons why hotel rates have fallen in some destinations. New properties have been coming up adding to the supply and in order to be competitive, the rates have remained unchanged or corrected a bit. This phenomenon was visible in the Far East, Dubai and Europe,” says Karan Anand, head, relationships, Cox & Kings.
According to Chirag Agrawal, associate director at TravelTriangle, several online travel service providers are now entering newer destinations. “As more players start selling these destinations there has been competition pressure, leading to discounting in hotel rates,” he says.
(With inputs from Ritwik Mukherjee)
New destinations like Philippines and its capital Manila have emerged as a favourite destination, thanks to the country’s weaker currency, making travel relatively inexpensive. A senior official of Club7 Holidays, an arm of the Centrum Group, told Financial Chronicle that while Bangkok is an old favourite of Indian tourists, both for the individuals as well as groups, Manila has come up in a big way recently, particularly for groups. “From our side, nearly 300-350 groups visited Manila last year, which is a significant jump. And it’s true with other travels and tours companies also. This is becoming increasingly popular because the country has a weaker currency, which travellers take advantage of once they are there,” the official says.
“Besides, Manila offers excellent night life and there are a number of good Indian restaurants offering exotic Indian foods,” the official adds.
The Philippine currency peso’s advantage vis-à-vis Thailand baht in the context of rupee is another factor why travelling Indians prefer Manila to Bangkok. As on Monday’s exchange rate, one peso is equal to Rs 1.29. Whereas one Thai bath equals Rs 1.89. Philippines, as a destination, has also been boosted by a recent decision of the Thailand government, which has imposed stricter VISA norms, making it mandatory to carry $750, irrespective of your need.
Falling hotel rates combined with a favourable currency movement has made several destinations cheaper for the Indian traveller. Sudarshan Motwani, CEO and co-founder, BookMyForex, confirms the trend. “Summer is the largest season for outbound travel and it is in March that most travellers plan their vacations and book their hotels and flights. The Indian rupee has appreciated five per cent against the US dollar since November. While this itself will make international travel cheaper, there are several other currencies which have depreciated against the US dollar and travel to such countries has become significantly cheaper.”
Among the currencies of most popular overseas destinations, the UK pound has depreciated 18.47 per cent against Indian rupee compared to levels in last June, Euro 7.8 per cent, Canadian dollar 8 per cent and Singapore dollar 7.27 per cent. “Many popular destinations that tourists are opting to travel to also happen to be in the list of those destinations where the local currency has depreciated against the dollar, such as US, UK etc. Due to this, travel service providers are inevitably promoting these destinations for summer travel. Some newer and upcoming destinations have also made it to this list, which include Egypt, Turkey and Philippines. Philippines in particular is an upcoming tourist destination, with an 8 per cent currency depreciation (against the US dollar) observed over the last year, making it a much more affordable choice than earlier,” points out Aloke Bajpai, CEO and co- founder of ixigo.
He adds: “We have seen a 16 per cent increase in international travel queries, with currency development certainly being a contributing factor. Clients are willing to explore new destinations and stay due to a favourable currency. A dip in hotel prices along with lowered costs of food, travel and sightseeing, most definitely attract tourists to extend their trips. They can stay longer at no additional cost as compared to say a year ago.” Added to this is the fact that flight fares too have dropped from last year.
Hotel accommodation is a major component in the travel budget and falling hotel rates have been luring the traveller to a certain destination. “We have definitely seen an increased interest in outbound travel amongst Indian travellers. In fact, the top 50 and top 100 lists in outbound category of Hotel Price Index revealed that many new destinations were becoming increasingly popular. The decreased hotel rates made the destinations only more viable for Indians who were already contemplating outbound travel.
In five of the 10 top destinations —UK, UAE, Singapore, France and Italy —travellers paid comparatively less in 2016 as compared to 2015, underlining that demonetisation did little to dampen wanderlust in India,” says Zoe Chan, head of PR, Asia Pacific, Hotels.com.
TripAdvisor also has come up with a list of destinations —both popular and emerging ones —for Indians to explore this year. Hotel rates in Turkey have dropped 27 per cent this year against last year. Taiwan is down 11 per cent, Cambodia 9 per cent and Indonesia 6 per cent. The average room-night rate in a new destination like Belize is down 32 per cent.
“The price conscious Indian traveller is always looking for ways to find the best prices to book, along with saving on time and effort. According to our hotel shopping data, some destinations offer significant hotel value this year compared to last year that includes the Caribbean, which is one of the most popular hotel shopping destinations on TripAdvisor and has seen an eight per cent dip in hotel prices, making it a perfect time for Indians to book a dream trip there. However, for those not willing to go that far, Taiwan, Cambodia, Sri Lanka, Indonesia and Philippines are great options considering their proximity to India,” explains Nikhil Ganju, country manager, TripAdvisor India.
Apart from currency fluctuation, local factors like Brexit in the UK have brought down the business sentiments. Likewise, the bomb blast in Turkey hit the hospitality industry as well. “The addition of hotel capacity has been one main reasons why hotel rates have fallen in some destinations. New properties have been coming up adding to the supply and in order to be competitive, the rates have remained unchanged or corrected a bit. This phenomenon was visible in the Far East, Dubai and Europe,” says Karan Anand, head, relationships, Cox & Kings.
According to Chirag Agrawal, associate director at TravelTriangle, several online travel service providers are now entering newer destinations. “As more players start selling these destinations there has been competition pressure, leading to discounting in hotel rates,” he says.
(With inputs from Ritwik Mukherjee)
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