Did you know that annual spends on foreign travel recorded this year was a whopping 4 billion? It was just 16 million in 2014. Read on to know more.
Who wouldn’t love a foreign trip, right? Recent data shows that we, Indians, love hanging out in foreign countries a lot as spends on foreign trips have increased by 253 times in the last five years. The annual spend recorded in FY 2014 was 16 million and this year, FY 2018, it is a whopping 4 billion, already.
Of course, this spends data considers not just pleasure trips made to foreign countries, but it also takes into account business-related overseas trips and trips made by students going for their higher education abroad.
Additional Reading: How to Earn Money While Travelling the World
What led to this increase?
Much of this sudden boom in foreign travel spends can be attributed to the shift in the payments landscape to Credit Cards. In addition to this, financing has now become way easier than before and a lot of Indians are taking Personal Loans for travelling abroad. Also, according to bankers, the increase in international travel among Indians can be ascribed to the rupee being steady until this year.
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Did the whole demonetisation episode add to the increase in foreign spends?
Although the demonetisation episode created much chaos across the country, it did help our country adopt cashless transactions. During the entire phase, a majority of the population shifted to using their Debit Cards, Credit Cards, and digital wallets to make payments. Well, it wasn’t like we had another choice.
Anyway, thanks to demonetisation, Credit Cards gained popularity across the masses. And, as we mentioned earlier since Credit Cards was one of the major factors that contributed to the increase in foreign travel spends, we can’t but agree with the fact that demonetisation did play a part.
Additional Reading: Demonetisation For Dummies: A Safety Guide To Cashless & Online Transactions
What else?
Interestingly, investments in properties and financial instruments abroad have declined although spends on foreign trips have increased. Bankers across the country have attributed this to two major reasons – firstly, such investments were usually done by high net-worth individuals, and secondly, the RBI has enforced stricter laws to keep a check on individuals using this route to invest their money overseas. Plus, the rupee has been on a decline for a few months. And as a result, investing and maintaining properties abroad isn’t a cheap affair.
Is it wise to use a Credit Card to fund your overseas travel?
Yes, no doubt! You can actually save a lot of money using your Credit Card, provided you use it wisely. Find a card that gets you maximum savings on booking air tickets, hotel rooms and overseas shopping. For instance, if you’re loyal to a particular airline like Jet Airways, then you can opt for a Jet co-branded card like the JetPrivilege HDFC Bank Platinum Credit Card to save on tickets and get perks like free lounge access, etc. If you’re a shopaholic, then the YES First Preferred Credit Card is a perfect pick, thanks to its low foreign currency mark-up of 1.75%.
Additional Reading: Popular Credit Cards For Shopping, Travel And More
Do your research and find a card that best suits your travel needs. This way, you get to save a lot on your travel expenses. Can’t seem to find the right travel Credit Card? No worries! We’ll help you. Just hit the link below.