Rupee free fall hits travel industry

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Kozhikode: The sharp fall in the Indian rupee has cheered the millions of families in Kerala depending on income from remittances. But, the travel industry is not happy as the cost of foreign travel has skyrocketed and they are forced to bear the brunt as they  have to make payments to counterparts abroad in dollars.
 
MPM Mubashir, general manager of Air Travel Enterprises, North Kerala, said that normally, fluctuations in currency did not impact the travel industry as the fall was minimal and besides, there’s a recovery, he said. But this time the fall was sharp and steady and had showed no signs of recovery, he said.
 
“The problem is that we have placed orders with our counterparts abroad at a reference rate of Rs 54 per dollar. But, now with the rate hovering between Rs 59 and Rs 60, it will impact the entire value chain including travel agents, tour operators and customers”, he said. Most outbound tickets from the state are denominated in dollar terms.   
 
VC Nawaz, in-charge of the Kozhikode branch of Kerala Travels Interserve Ltd, told DC, “We have been working for the last two weeks on a Maldives tour package of three nights and four days costing $1600. But when we quote in rupee terms, it comes as a shock to people”, he said.   
 
The fall has also impacted outbound travel as most people had cancelled or postponed plans hoping for an upward correction.