Sliding Rupee Not A Hindrance For Indian Tourists Going To Malaysia

By Saraswathi Muniappan NEW DELHI, May 24 (Bernama) -- The sliding Indian rupee will not stop the Indians from flying to Malaysia for holidays, said Tourism Malaysia's deputy director (New Delhi), Chandra Sehgaran. In fact, he said, this would help increase the number of Indian tourists to Malaysia. "Generally, the cost of travelling has increased but I am doubtful if it will affect us badly. "I think it could actually benefit us as the already expensive destinations (Europe and US) will become more costly, and it will result in the Indian tourists travelling within the region," he told Bernama here Thursday. Chandra said this when asked if the declining rupee would badly affect Indian tourists to Malaysia. He said Tourism Malaysia has always promoted Malaysia as value-for-money destination, which has been embedded in mindset of Indian tourists. The rupee today reached a new low of 56.38 versus the US dollar. It has been on a downward trend since last week, resulting in a 25 per cent spike in travel expenses for the Indians so far. Last year, over 700,000 Indian tourists visited Malaysia. The immediate beneficiaries would be Nepal and Sri Lanka as they are now cheaper destinations, and the rest will spill over to South-East Asia. Asked if Indian travelers would pick domestic holidays as against overseas amid the current situation, Chandra said: "Some of the domestic holiday packages could be more expensive compared with those to South-East Asia." He said demand was more than supply so, some of the domestic holiday packages would be more or equivalent to travel to South-East Asian countries. "Hence, I think there will be growth and the figures that will be announced in the next few weeks will vouch for what I have just said provided the rupee doesn't slide further," he said. -- BERNAMA