Indians spend $152 mn through Visa cards abroad

Indians who traveled abroad in 2002 spent $152 million using Visa cards, an increase of 29 per cent compared to that a year ago, Visa International said in Mumbai on Monday.

Travelers to the United States accounted for most of the spending at $55 million, followed by European Union nations at $40 million and the Asia-Pacific region at $ million, a release from the company said.

Other top destinations for spending by Indians on Visa cards were Singapore, Thailand, Germany, Hong Kong, Malaysia and France, it said.

The tourists' spending on Visa cards in India amounted to over $482 million in 2002, posting a three per cent growth over the previous year.

Travelers from EU countries, US and Asia-Pacific regions accounted for $429 million of the total card spends in India, the release said adding international visitors who spent the most on Visa cards in India were from the US, UK, France, Australia and UAE.

Despite the Bali incident, the company said its card spending by international tourists in Asia-Pacific region amounted to $5 billion during the last quarter of 2002, an increase of over 22 per cent compared to 2001, the release said.

"Despite politically and economically trying times in 2002, international tourism showed again how resilient and stable this sector can be. Visa's figures show that Asia-Pacific remains an attractive region for international travelers," Visa Asia-Pacific executive vice-president  (marketing and product sales) Rajiv Kapoor said.