Share Market Live

NSE

While the world tries to steer away from a recession, Thomas Cook has some good news. The travel company has positive guidance and expects a strong bounce-back in growth across segments in the coming December quarter. He also said that rupee depreciation is not hurting.

Brijesh Modi, CFO of Thomas Cook, told CNBC-TV18 that by the December quarter, all the businesses that are yet to recover fully will recover to the pre-pandemic level.

“September quarter recoveries versus the pre-pandemic level are definitely higher than what we had seen in June quarter, and that is across all the businesses. By December quarter, all the businesses who are yet to be recovered fully will recover to the pandemic level,” he said.

He said that the March quarter will see a higher number as compared to the pre-pandemic level.

Also Read: RateGain sees strong travel demand ahead — thanks to Diwali, cricket and weddings

Brijesh Modi said that rupee depreciation was not really impacting business.

“Rupee has depreciated to about 80 versus the dollar, but the fact is, we all are aware of the rush that we are witnessing in terms of studying abroad. So, we are seeing a growth in student fee remittance. We are seeing a growth in money transfers to relatives and friends etc. We are seeing an increase in the corporate travel side,” he said.

On festive demand, Brijesh Modi said, “The demand has come back and if you look at various travel segments. Corporate demand has come back, and we are actually higher than the pre-pandemic level as we speak.”

He said domestic tourism reached the pre-pandemic level, and as per trends, numbers will exceed. "The foreign exchange business is registering about 75 percent of the recovery, and the balance is pending because of visa-related issues in certain countries.”

He also said that in international travel, June and September quarter trends show recovery in a big way. "We expect about 40 percent recovery versus 18 percent in June, which is still muted because visa-related challenges are there.”

For the full interview, watch the accompanying video.

Also Read: UDAN 5.0. will aim for air connectivity to 54 new travel destinations