The Greece crisis is actually beneficial for Indian customers, tour and travel operator Thomas Cook told NDTV. Greece is staring at the possibility of being shunted out of the euro zone as it is likely to default on its debt payment to IMF or the International Monetary Fund.(Fears of Greece Leaving Euro Are Fears of the Unknown)
“We see a customer benefit out of this entire crisis. As far as Greece is concerned, yes we do send tourists and as far as I know we have approximately 20 or 25 tourists on the ground as we talk,” Madhavan Menon, managing director, Thomas Cook India said.
The weakening of the euro on the back of the Greece crisis was anticipated for some time and Thomas Cook has been passing on the benefit of the depreciation of the euro or strengthening of the rupee to customers, Mr Menon said.
On Monday, Greece put restrictions on ATM (automated teller machine) withdrawals. (Greece Shuts Banks, Limits ATM Withdrawals)
“We had warned them sufficiently in advance asking them to carry more cash with them because capital account controls were expected to come in if the negotiations didn’t work out. Bottomline is we are fully hedged.”
The Thomas Cook stock on Monday fell as much as 8 per cent to Rs 210.40. Traders felt the possible exit of Greece from the euro zone may lead to revenue and foreign exchange losses for companies like travel companies, analysts said.
However, Mr Menon said that anticipating higher volatility in euro Thomas Cook has tightened hedging norms and hedged their entire foreign exchange exposure both in the foreign exchange business and leisure travel business.
The euro depreciation will have “zero impact” on foreign exchange exposure level of the company, he added.
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