Mumbai : The Indian outbound travel industry has grown tremendously over the years comprising of travellers for leisure, adventure, wellness and business. On account of a sharp 11% depreciation of the Indian currency in just six months, the American dollar was the most popular foreign currency stored at home with 28% of travellers admitting to stocking it post a holiday or a business trip as revealed by leading global travel search site Skyscanner.

The survey reveals that not all holidaymakers believe in spending their foreign currency on shopping and would rather bring the extra holiday cash home. Out of the 1000 Indian travellers surveyed, on an average, Indian travellers had foreign currency worth an estimated Rs. 1400 lying at home unused.

The survey further revealed that the most ‘common’ foreign currencies after the US dollar found in Indian travellers’ homes were the Euro, British Pound, Singapore and Australian dollars. With India’s burgeoning outbound market and with the country representing the top source market for visitor traffic into most countries, it comes as no surprise that Indians now more than ever, are on the lookout for international holiday experiences.  Out of the unused holiday cash, majority (41%) of the travellers believed their foreign currency to be worth more than Rs. 2,000 whilst 17% said it equated to less than Rs.250.

Kavitha Gnanamurthy, Skyscanner’s Market Development Manager for India, commented, “It is clear that not all holiday makers believe in splurging their foreign currency but would rather bring it back with them in the hopes that it might come in handy in the future.  With the depreciation of the Indian currency in the last six months, saving holiday cash can be the wisest decision that people can make now.”

Foreign currencies that Indian travellers are saving at home!

How much leftover holiday cash do Indians have lying around at home?

Source : Rohini Saldanha