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Rupee depreciation has not affected travel plans

‘Fly-cruise’ on the rise this festive season As Diwali is just round the corner people are already in the festive mood and planning to enjoy the mini vacation starting from 7th November. Some opt for staying indoors while travelholics already plan their vacations in the lap of nature or over the sea in luxury cruise […]

Rupee depreciation has not affected travel plans
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‘Fly-cruise’ on the rise this festive season

As Diwali is just round the corner people are already in the festive mood and planning to enjoy the mini vacation starting from 7th November. Some opt for staying indoors while travelholics already plan their vacations in the lap of nature or over the sea in luxury cruise liners. International destinations are also in the list of people to enjoy the festival with family.

Anand Menon, Vice president and Head – Leisure Businesses, FCM Travel Solutions, Indian subsidiary of Flight Centre Travel Group, Australia put focus on the recent trends in this time of season.

Diwali is the time when the peak season begins and in fact, the real booking season starts from Dusshera / Diwali till Sakranti / Pongal until it starts again in March. This time around the travelers across India are in for a super long weekend, yet again. The 5-day holiday from 07 to 11 November 2018 is suitable for the new-age Indian traveller to not just de-stress but also explore the ‘Fly-cruise’ trend,” said Menon.

He said at Travel Tours the leisure business has grown by 24-26% during the festive period with people opt for international destinations such as Singapore, Bali, Dubai (along with Abu Dhabi), Turkey, Egypt, Australia & New Zealand. Their International Holidays team has witnessed a strong increase in its Europe queries as well which is up by an impressive 38% in 2018. They have curated special Europe group packages with unique and engaging holiday options for India’s travelers which include new experiences like Cruise on Lake Lucerne in Switzerland and the fastest transit train from London to Paris in Europe via Eurostar.

He further said that Rupee depreciation has not affected Festive travel plans necessarily. While the dollar component does go down, travelers’ expenditures do not. For example, travelers now opt for the same destination but for a shorter duration.

This Diwali cruises have also been extremely popular. In fact, we have witnessed ‘fly-cruise’ as an increasing trend where the focus shifts from cruise being a part of the travel to becoming the main experience, with airfare and hotel taking a smaller percentage in the itinerary. Popular destinations with fly-cruise experiences include Singapore, Hong Kong and Thailand,” added Menon

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