India curbs tourist dollars

In an interesting move Indian authorities have ruled that tourists visiting the country's monuments must pay at a fixed local rupee rate rather than in dollars.

Entrance to many local tourist sites is priced in dollars and then converted to rupees, causing authorities to lose money as the dollar slid more than 12 per cent against the rupee.

The Ministry of Culture said that the latest move was "to avoid any anomaly on account of falling exchange rates of dollar vis-a-vis rupee and consequent fall in revenues".

The government had fixed a $5 entrance fee for World Heritage sites like the Taj Mahal and $2 for other monuments at a time when the dollar was worth about 50 rupees.

The dollar is now worth around 39 rupees. The new rate for World Heritage Sites is fixed at 250 rupees ($6.50).

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