Mangaluru: Mangaluru International Airport (MIA) director Vasamsetti Venkateswara Rao, inaugurated the CentrumDirect counter, which will offer foreign exchange at competitive rates with a range of other products such as travellers’ cheques, multi-currency prepaid cards and travel insurance on Sunday, April 22.

Mr. Rao told press that it is compulsory for all international airports to have forex service providers and that CentrumDirect bagged the rights from an open tender.

MIA offers regular flights to UAE, Bahrain, Qatar and Kuwait which makes it quite the strategic location for CentrumDirect to offer its forex and travel services. CentrumDirect currently has 14 branches in Karnataka and plans to expand their operations in this region. They feel that Mangaluru has immense potential for tourism and trade.

T C Guruprasad, chief executive officer and managing director, CentrumDirect Ltd said, “Mangaluru is a fast growing business and tourism destination in Karnataka. Besides being the largest port in Karnataka, it offers a mix of beaches, religious monuments, museums and nature parks. Various airlines offer direct connectivity to and from the Middle East countries to MIA and passengers will look forward to hassle free, transparent services.”

Rao said MIA is the fastest growing Airport Authority India (AAI) airport in the B category in South India. It serviced over 23.4 lakh passengers in 2017-18. Its passenger handling increased by 5.9-lakh over 2016-17 accounting incredible growth of passenger traffic of more than 30%.

The forex counters are strategically located at the arrival and departure lounges, allowing passengers to meet their currency requirements.