Malaysians drawn to cheaper India this August

THE depreciation of the Indian rupee against the Malaysian ringgit coupled with AirAsia's current promotions to India are expected to boost outbound travel to India, especially during the August school holidays, which coincide with the upcoming Hari Raya festive period.
Hidden Asia Travel & Tours managing director, Nanda Kumar, anticipates a 40 per cent increase in outbound leisure travel to India.
He said demand was strong for tours combining Kolkata with the Golden Triangle and Chennai with Delhi, while tour packages combining Kerala backwaters with Ayurvedic treatments were also especially popular with couples on honeymoon.
Stephen Thomas, managing director of Topaz Travel & Tours, anticipates a 20 per cent year-on-year increase in leisure travel during the upcoming school holiday period.
Beyond the school holidays, he said Malaysia Airlines’ new daily services to Kochi beginning September 1 would also boost demand for packages to Kerala, especially from the middle- and upper-middle-income brackets who would not mind paying more for service and comfort.
“We have also received bookings for the year-end school holidays and anticipate a 20 to 25 per cent increase compared to last year. This is partly because of the depreciation of the rupee, the general elections being over, and airline deals.”
N Rajan, an outbound consultant at Dhesu Travel & Tours, expects tour packages to South India to sell better than North India during the school holidays next month, as was the case last year (TTG Asia e-daily, August 13, 2012). Many Malaysian Indians have their roots in the south.

Sourced: ttgaisa