(Dollar plays spoilsport…)
Foreign shores beckon no more this summer as the devaluing rupee puts a crimp in holiday plans of Lucknowites.
The summer holidays have begun but holidaymakers in Lucknow don't really seem to be cheering. And the reason is quite simple - the devaluation of the rupee against the dollar has put a serious crimp in their plans. At the last count, the sliding rupee had crossed the psychological barrier of `55.44 per dollar. And with the rising dollar prices, travelling abroad, even with pre-booked travel packages has become an expensive proposition. The blow is being felt by both tourists and tour operators.
Naveen Havelia was all set to visit Singapore and Malaysia this season when the rupee blues sunk his plans. "I try to go out of the country on holiday every summer. Last year I had gone to Macau and Hong Kong and was planning to continue my Southeast Asian sojourn this year as well. But of late travel costs have risen sharply due to falling value of rupee. A tour to Singapore and Malaysia is now costing me 25% more than last year's tour to Macau, which is ridiculous!" Naveen now plans to stick closer home and spend a few days in either Leh or Sikkim.
Similar is the story with Ashok Maurya, a software engineer, who got hitched to his long-time girlfriend in April this year and had planned to celebrate his honeymoon on foreign shores. "We had decided to go on a European tour and had zeroed in on a tour package with a prominent travel company. But the unexpected rupee devaluation has complicated our plans. All I can do is to cancel the foreign tour and settle for some domestic destination, for now," says Ashok with a shrug.
Explaining this turbulence in the overseas travel industry, Mohammad Shoeb, president of an association of travel agents in UP, says, "The sharp decline in rupee and the strengthening of dollar has ruined our business. Due to this steep rise in the benchmark currency - dollar - people are bound to pay much higher fares now than what they were a few months back. For example, the fare of a return journey to Singapore has increased by `6000-`7000 whereas the fare for a return journey to Hong Kong has increased by `5000 this holiday season. This price hike is pushing travellers to move towards domestic tourist destinations. The business we got for our international tour packages has gone down by around 30% this season. Worse, those customers who had booked their tickets months before this rupee devaluation, now are not ready to understand the fare hike. They want to pay only what was decided months ago. Ab customer ko kaun samjhaye ki yahaan dollar ka market value kitna uncertain hota hai."
A view echoed by travel operator Sukesh Bahadur, who says, "The decline of the rupee has ruined our season. It is tough for us to make the customers understand the fact that they will have to pay the difference due to increase in charges. Now, those with their tickets booked have no other option than to continue with their holiday package."
Interestingly, the devaluation of the rupee has a brighter side as well. With the option of foreign shores for summer out, holidayers are turning to traveling within the country. Says Vivek Pandey, president of UP Travel Agents Association, "We are witnessing a sharp increase in the number of people preferring to spend their holidays within the country, exploring the famous tourist places like Srinagar, Leh, Darjeeling, Gangtok and other places in Northeast India. On an average 10 families are going to Srinagar and Leh from UP everyday to spend their holidays there. The inputs we are getting from our associates in Srinagar and Leh confirm the trend. It's almost impossible to find even a single hotel room as all hotels are running house full in Srinagar valley." On asking which tourist destinations abroad are directly getting hit with these local movements, he says, "Tourist destinations of South-East Asia, which comprises of tourist havens like Malaysia, Thailand and Singapore, have taken a hit. So much so that the Star cruise, a major tourist draw for Singapore, turned out a complete flop show this season with only 40% bookings so far."