Falling rupee is saving inbound tourism in India
In the second week of September Union Minister K J Alphons said that rupee depreciation was good for the country’s tourism sector, and, his words seem to be true, looking at the growth of inbound tourism. The strengthening dollar and Euro has made India an attractive destination for foreign tourists. Though the outbound tourism has taken a hit, the tourism industry has high hopes regarding the inbound tourists. Alphons has said earlier last month that the central government is taking all measures to double the tourist inflow in India in next three years.
Apart from foreign travellers, there’s a remarkable rise in the domestic travel ahead of the festival season. Popular travel agents and operators have reported a 20 per cent rise in travel bookings during this Navrathri season. In the upcoming Dussehra season, where there is a possibility of a 3-4 days short trip, several bookings are already made for Kerala, Bengaluru, Mysore, Delhi and Gujarat.
Along with these popular destinations, there are many who prefer off beat destinations to chill out and make maximum use of the holidays. “Since there’s a significant difference in the rupee-dollar ratio, honeymooners who were otherwise planning for overseas destinations, are coming to Kerala, to experience the magnificence of the state. God’s own Country is gaining back its reputation as a honeymoon destination once again. There’s also a good inflow of foreign tourists to the destination,” said Anish Kumar P K, President of Association of Tourism Trade Organizations, India.
Kerala Tourism is at present touring Nagpur, Pune and Mumbai, conducting roadshows in all these cities. Similarly, other state tourism boards are also making every effort to tap the inbound tourism market and promote their exclusive products and offers at similar events and trade fairs across the country. The upcoming wedding season and the Christmas-New Year holidays are also a boon for destinations like Kerala.
FAITH Chairman Subhash Goyal has said that they are expecting inbound tourism to benefit by 10 per cent. However, outbound travellers, who still wish not to cancel their long-planned vaccations, may choose alternative cheaper accommodations and cut down on shopping to afford the travel. Avoiding US & Europe for a while and travel East, to countries whose currencies too have depreciated, will help the travellers in large. Destinations like Mexico, Italy and South Africa where the Indian rupee has appreciated against Mexican Peso, Turkish Lira or the Rand will make travel favourable to these destinations. India is currently Australia’s fastest growing market for arrivals and spending with arrivals from India to Australia rose 19.6 per cent for the year ended June 2018 with an influx of 335,100 visitors, compared to the same period previous year. India continues to be a priority market for New Zealand too.
Foreign tourist inflow in India last year grew by 15.6 per cent and receipts grew by 20.2 per cent. The Indian e-Visa too has become a game-changer for India’s tourism sector and is now available for citizens of 166 countries who want to travel to India for business and medical treatment purposes. During 2017, a total of 1.69 million foreign tourists arrived on e-Visa as compared to 1.08 million during 2016, registering a growth of 57.2 per cent.
Apart from these, the country’s regional air connectivity scheme, UDAN, which aims to make flying affordable for the masses, promote tourism, increase employment opportunities and promote balanced regional economic growth, is also helping the domestic travel market in a big way. The Regional Connectivity Scheme aims to connect under-served or un-served airports to key airports through inexpensive flights. The UDAN scheme makes it easier for the domestic travellers to access these destinations at an affordable rate.
Many states are planning to introduce helicopter services to boost tourism under the UDAN scheme. Following Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Manipur, Assam and Arunachal Pradesh will commence operations after they complete the process of giving approvals. Under the scheme, 76 routes are awarded which counts travel to and from a destination as two routes. At present, the central government is in the process of offering fresh routes under UDAN, which aims to connect iconic cities like Varanasi and Gaya to different towns. It is expecting an increase in the number of air passengers from 265 million in 2017 to about one billion in 10-15 years.
