This story first appeared in DNA Money edition on Friday, Aug 16, 2013.
Travel and tour operator Cox & Kings said it is expecting to benefit in a big way from the depreciating rupee, which has cut costs for inbound tourists.
Peter Kerkar, Group CEO, Cox & Kings, said, “The benefit of rupee decline helps us because a large percentage of our revenues is in foreign currency. The initial signs are showing travel to India should certainly become more attractive.”
While the gains were not reflected in the first quarter results, company officials said the real fall in rupee against dollar came in June and hence the impact will be visible in the upcoming quarters.
With the Indian travel, tourism and hospitality sectors set to enter the peak season from October, industry players are gung-ho on the prospects.
“India is finally looking affordable from a global perspective. We are hoping that our last two quarters of the current fiscal — when our international offices send business to India as well as the incoming traffic into the country — should be boosted by this current situation,” Kerkar said in an recent earnings call.
On the other hand, Anil Khandelwal, CFO, Cox & Kings, said the company hasn’t seen any slowdown in terms of leisure holidays.
“People will continue with their travel plans irrespective of depreciating rupee against the dollar. That’s because, people basically keep a budget for travel in their mind and plan their holidays accordingly,” said Khandelwal.
According to Union tourism ministry, foreign tourist arrivals were up by 1.9% to 12.8 lakh despite April-June quarter being a lean season.
Travel and tour operator Cox & Kings said it is expecting to benefit in a big way from the depreciating rupee, which has cut costs for inbound tourists.
Peter Kerkar, Group CEO, Cox & Kings, said, “The benefit of rupee decline helps us because a large percentage of our revenues is in foreign currency. The initial signs are showing travel to India should certainly become more attractive.”
While the gains were not reflected in the first quarter results, company officials said the real fall in rupee against dollar came in June and hence the impact will be visible in the upcoming quarters.
With the Indian travel, tourism and hospitality sectors set to enter the peak season from October, industry players are gung-ho on the prospects.
“India is finally looking affordable from a global perspective. We are hoping that our last two quarters of the current fiscal — when our international offices send business to India as well as the incoming traffic into the country — should be boosted by this current situation,” Kerkar said in an recent earnings call.
On the other hand, Anil Khandelwal, CFO, Cox & Kings, said the company hasn’t seen any slowdown in terms of leisure holidays.
“People will continue with their travel plans irrespective of depreciating rupee against the dollar. That’s because, people basically keep a budget for travel in their mind and plan their holidays accordingly,” said Khandelwal.
According to Union tourism ministry, foreign tourist arrivals were up by 1.9% to 12.8 lakh despite April-June quarter being a lean season.
No comments:
Post a Comment