The declining strength of the Indian Rupee is attracting an influx of tourists to India as an increasing number of holidaymakers look to stretch the value of their currency, according to media sources.

India’s popularity as a holiday destination has skyrocketed since the rupee started to weaken and interested tourists have made the former British protectorate the most widely searched for holiday destination online.

Sources suggested that people who had previously visited India in the cheaper off-season were now enquiring about the availability of more expensive rooms during the peak season, traditionally between October and February.

The claims were mirrored by the fact that subcontinent queries with one well-known internet travel agent revealed a 50% rise in enquiries, which included religious tours, during the peak season.

Industry experts claim that the majority of the enquires have been coming from neighbouring countries in South-East Asia and England, suggesting that the 2012/13 peak season could see foreign tourist arrivals go through the roof.

As well as the numbers of mid-level foreign holidaymakers searching for cheap flights to India on the internet, the rupee’s decline has also seen the outbound Indian tourist looking for value-for-money domestic trips as a cheaper alternative, with economical internal flights and budget hotels the flavour of the month.

Copyright Press Association 2012

A new report has found that the proportion of over-45s taking a foreign holiday increased to around 50% last year, up from 47% in 2006.

The research by holiday company Page & Moy also revealed that British holidaymakers aged between 45 and 64 accounted for 41% of spending on foreign holidays in 2010 and 2011.

Travellers over the age of 65 were found to take the most holidays abroad among the over-45s, with more than one in four (28%) going on at least two foreign holidays a year. The overall average was less than one in five (19%).

Britons aged 65 or over are also the most prolific domestic travellers, as one in four was found to take two holidays in the UK a year and one in five even takes three trips or more.

Around one in 11 trips abroad (9%) made by over-65s in 2010 was at least a month in length, and four in 10 (40%) spent at least two weeks on a foreign holiday.

The report, by Page & Moy’s specialist company Travelsphere and Mintel Research Consultancy, also found that the number of long-haul trips taken by people aged 55-64 increased between 2008 and 2010, while it decreased in all other age groups.

Travelsphere’s top long-haul destinations are USA, Canada, China and India, with flights usually departing from Heathrow airport.

Copyright Press Association 2012

Heathrow is the world’s top shopping spot, with higher retail sales than any other world airport, figures have revealed.

It recorded a rise in gross retail sales, up from £1.5 billion in 2010 to more than £1.7 billion last year.

Net retail income per passenger showed a 5.3% rise to £4.35, with much of the rise attributed to increasing numbers of passengers from the BRIC countries – Brazil, Russia, India and China. These customers spent £45.50 on average last year, up from the previous year’s £37.22.

The second place for airport shopping is Incheon Airport, serving Seoul in South Korea.

Total clothing and accessories sales at Heathrow increased 17.7% last year, while World Duty Free shops enjoyed a 12.7% rise.

The retail results were encouraging, said Heathrow commercial director John Holland-Kaye. He praised retail partners and the Heathrow Airport team for working “so well together” to produce such results, which he referred to as “an amazing performance” in a struggling economy.

The figures come as former Conservative environment minister Tim Yeo, who is chairman of the energy and climate change committee, has renewed calls to drop Government opposition to a third runway at Heathrow Airport, arguing that new EU rules on aviation meant it would not lead to an rise in emissions.

Copyright © Press Association 2012

The release of a new Bollywood film could be set to create a surge in the number of Indian tourists visiting Ireland.

Tourism bosses are hoping to capitalise on the success of the movie Ek Tha Tiger – Once There Was A Tiger – which was filmed in Dublin last year.

The film is expected to become a blockbuster when it is released in India this summer, and Tourism Ireland hopes its popularity will encourage viewers to visit Ireland.

And with 400,000 people already visiting the UK from India every year, it is likely that at least some of those who book holidays to Ireland will travel across to Britain during their trip, suggesting that major airports such as London Stansted and Luton may also benefit from the latest tourism drive.

As part of the plans, nine travel organisations will head to Mumbai and Delhi for four days in a bid to drum up trade.

Tourism Ireland, which is leading the trade mission, hopes to target India’s growing middle class, which is expanding by around 40 million people every year thanks to the country’s booming economy.

An estimated nine million foreign trips are taken by Indians every year, with around 15,000 of them travelling to Ireland

Ek Tha Tiger stars two of the biggest names in Bollywood, Katrina Kaif and Salman Khan. It focuses on a man’s journey to Dublin, where he falls in love with a woman who is studying dance at Trinity College.

The film was shot in and around Trinity, Merrion Square and the Ha’penny Bridge during September

Copyright © Press Association 2012