- 89 percent respondents confirm
planning a holiday this summer
- 74 percent travellers looking
to take 2 or more leisure trips in the next 6 months
- 48 percent travellers open to
mystery holiday and 35 percent plan to tread off the beaten track.
Summer of 2012 will witness more leisure breaks and less IPL,
more adventure and less email, reveals the annual ‘Summer Holiday Travel
Survey’ of TripAdvisor®, the world's largest travel site. The survey conducted
among over 1500 respondents highlights that 35 percent Indian travellers are
ready to head out to offbeat destinations within the country and across the
globe. More than 38 percent respondents are willing to spend more than a lakh
on summer holidays this year and over 56 percent plan to explore foreign
shores!
According to Nikhil Ganju, Country Manager, TripAdvisor India,
“It seems like a bustling summer for travellers this year. It is interesting to
note that more Indian travellers are willing to explore
newer destinations and seek more adventure on their vacations.” He further
added, “The survey also unveiled interesting insights on women travellers.
Traditionally women were mostly travelling with family or spouse, but our
survey results show that the Indian woman is ready to go solo with 64 percent
female respondents willing to travel alone on leisure. Adventure travel too is
gathering steam; the percentage of
travellers opting for adventure activities such as outdoor camping/ rafting/
hiking and a safari/wildlife sanctuary trip has seen a fillip from last year’s
survey.”
Places
our fellow travellers are heading to!
- 20
percent of those travelling within India are going to visit at least one
of the three destinations: Goa, Kerala and Rajasthan.
- Among
international holiday spots, South East Asian destinations such as
Thailand, Singapore and Malaysia emerge as favourites, followed by
Australia, UK, and USA etc.
- Destinations
like Kashmir, Port Blair, Spain, Greece, Nepal, Bhutan, Cambodia and Vietnam
also emerge as new vacation choices for a few, indicating a trend to go off the beaten track.
- Promotional campaigns seem to have influenced choice of destination for many as 30 percent travellers shared that they made the decision to holiday in some destinations after seeing promotional tourism campaigns. The top 3 destinations people decided on visiting after watching the promotional campaigns were Gujarat, followed by Kerala and Madhya Pradesh. Travellers are also showing increasing interest in exploring J&K and the North East.
Log off mail, Log on Facebook
- Travellers
are breaking away from being addicted to work on vacation with 70 percent
travellers from key metros saying they will keep away from their office
emails and phone calls on their summer breaks.
- However,
social media addiction has taken over work addiction on holiday, with 46
percent travellers who will post regular updates (status, tweets,
pictures) to their profiles on FB, Twitter, Flickr etc
Destination Unknown
- Indian
travellers seem to be opening up to new and unique holidays with 48
percent respondents willing to experiment with mystery trips.
- 50
percent men in India are willing to experiment with mystery holidays this
summer compared to 40 percent women.
- The
big surprise is that 65 percent of travellers in the age group of 65+ were
game for a Mystery holiday
- Kolkata
strides ahead as the city most willing to go on mystery trips among the
six major metros
Women break away solo
- Setting
a new trend, Indian women are ready to head out by themselves on a holiday
with 64 percent willing to travel alone on leisure.
- However,
a disheartening trend to note is that only 11 percent women are
comfortable with travelling alone only within India; as opposed to 18
percent women who are actually more comfortable travelling only
internationally. An indication probably of how safe women feel in the
country which is their own, even when compared to unknown international
destinations.
- 49
percent women are planning to splurge between Rs. 50,000 – .2,00,000 on
their summer vacation this year.
- Though
only 40 percent women are open to the idea of mystery travel, 67 percent
are happy heading to offbeat destinations
- While
women are game for moderate adventure with camping /rafting/hiking and
backpacking but not that keen on safari/wildlife trips compared to their
male counterparts.
- Largest
percentage of women who would not consider travelling alone are from
Chennai, Hyderabad and Delhi
Weekend Recess & Pet Peeves
- 30
percent respondents plan to use the Independence day long weekend for a
quick getaway, closely followed by 28 percent who plan to head out on the
Good Friday weekend in April.
- 81
percent travellers were not planning to take their pet along for any
holidays. 63 percent among these cited logistical problems of transporting
their pets as the biggest deterrent from carrying their beloved pooches on
vacation.
- Among
those who plan to take their pets along for at least one holiday this year
74 percent will take their pets along on their road trips.
IPL – Manoranjan ka Baap no more?
While slightly better than last year, the IPL frenzy doesn’t
seem to have caught up this year as well with 72 percent respondents saying
they are not excited about IPL matches. Even among those looking forward to the
tournament, only 15% plan to travel to catch the game live in any of the
cities. Looks like more people are planning exciting journeys across India and
abroad during the IPL season as opposed to sitting glued to their TV sets.
HOW THE BIG 6 STACK UP *
- Chennai
has highest percentage of travellers across 6 major metros planning a
holiday this summer (94%)
- Among
the 6 key metros, Kolkata has the highest percentage (17 %) of travellers
looking to travel only internationally
- Kolkata
has the highest social quotient with
highest percentage of respondents
looking to post regular social updates while on holiday, followed
by Delhi.
- Among
those travelling internationally this summer, Chennai & Hyderabad have
highest percentage of travellers for whom it is their first foreign trip
- Hyderabad,
followed by Chennai and Kolkata are top 3 cities with travellers planning
to venture to offbeat destinations on holiday this summer.
- Bangalore
leads the adventure trail with highest respondents across cities planning
to take a Safari/Wildlife sanctuary or camping/hiking/rafting holiday.
- 69
percent Mumbai respondents are set to spend between Rs. 50,000-2, 00,000;
the highest across 6 metros.
- Chennai
followed by Hyderabad and Kolkata are least likely to plan short breaks
over upcoming long weekends holidays.
- Mumbai,
followed by Bangalore and Delhi are least excited about the upcoming IPL
season.
- Chennai could do with some help from Cupid, as the city shows the lowest percentage of respondents going on a romantic or honeymoon holiday this summer.
