The depreciating rupee against dollar is burning a bigger hole in the pockets of Indians travelling abroad with travel firms hiking charges to offset the impact. 

Inbound travel, however, is likely to go up as foreigners will have to shell out less in dollar terms to experience India's hospitality, industry observers pointed out. 

Analysts said the trend of rupee weakening continues, volumes of outbound travels could be impacted. "As the rupee weakens, travel outside India automatically becomes more expensive. We will see reduction in outbound travel due to this," SMC Global Securities Strategist and Head of Research Jagannadham Thunuguntla said. 

According to estimates of SMC Global Securities, January 2011 and till date, the rupee has depreciated by about 18 per cent. "While, traveling abroad has become expensive, coming to India has become 18 per cent cheaper for international tourists," he added. 

However, the news is not bad for international tourists. "A weak rupee makes India a cheaper destination...we are getting a lot of bookings from tourists coming into India as this is the peak season," Starwood India Managing Director Dilip Puri said. 

"Weaker rupee does make India a cheaper destination but most of the travel firms hedge their dollars and make advance bookings, so this kind of volatility is not good for any tourism destination," Kuoni Destination Management India and South Asia Dipak Deva said. 

The Indian rupee that has been losing ground to the US dollar touched a lifetime low of Rs 52.50 per US dollar this morning on the Interbank Foreign Exchange today on sustained demand for the American currency.

PTI