Allocation of US dollar for overseas travel has declined 75 percent [View All]

[naaman fletcher]

Data issued by the Foreign Exchange Administration Commission (Cadivi), which is the agency responsible for allocating foreign currency at the official exchange rate, show that in the first half of 2010, the government authorized the payment of USD 449.1 million for overseas travel. This represents a sharp decline of 75 percent compared to USD 1.81 billion approved in the same period in 2009.

The cut in the allocation of US dollars at the official exchange rate for overseas travel is due to several factors.

First of all, Cadivi has restricted people's freedom to spend the USD 3,000 quota per year and authorizes a certain amount of dollars depending on the destination and the duration of the travel.

At the same time, the devaluation increased the cost from VEB 2.15 per US dollar to VEB 4.30 per US dollar and the inflation rate has eroded household's budget, forcing people to cut non-priority spending.

http://english.eluniversal.com/2010/07/21/en_eco_art_allocation-of-us-dol_21A4220731.shtml

If you ran Venezuela and wanted to keep people from fleeing, one thing that you could do is to close down the black market in dollars and then not exchange dollars for foreign travel. Just sayin.