Press release from Business Wire India
Source: TripAdvisor Media Network
Tuesday, December 15, 2009 03:50 PM IST (10:20 AM GMT)
Editors: General: Consumer interest, Travel & tourism; Business: Advertising, PR & marketing, Business services, Information technology, Travel & tourism; Technology
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Tripadvisor Uncovers Indian Travel Trends for Winter 2009-2010: Most Indians Want to See Incredible India!
Adventure Seeking Here to Stay with 63% of Travellers Opting for Adventure Activities/Wildlife Vacations this Winter; Historic sites, Beaches, Hill Stations and Spas are Top Choices for Holiday Attractions; Looking good for a holiday is very important:: Indians will get Haircuts, Shop for clothes and go on a diet
New Delhi, Delhi, India, Tuesday, December 15, 2009 -- (Business Wire India) -- TripAdvisor®, the world's largest travel community, today announced the results of its 'India winter travel trends' survey. One of the clear trends demonstrates a large preference for travel within the country, along with choosing budget or value for money hotel for their stays. This clearly showcases that even as the economy shows strong signs of recovery, Indians are still being cautious about their travel spends.
Amongst some of the trends uncovered by the survey was the 'mini-trend' of 'Staycations' ( stay-at-home breaks) where travellers stay in their city to celebrate New Year's Eve rather than taking a trip.. This they feel not only provides an opportunity to spend time at home with family and friends but is also a wise way of meeting the expenses during the economic slowdown.
With the winter vacations on in full swing, beaches and hill stations emerge as the top holiday destinations of choice with 56% and 46% of respondents opting for each respectively.
While on holiday, the top activities that Indians want to engage in this winter are: City Sightseeing (50%) and visiting a spa (42%). These activities are followed by other strong choices such as visiting a historic site/monument (35%), attending a festival (19%), attend a play/musical (17%) and visiting a theme park (17%).
"India is a magnificent potpourri of people, places and culture and features a very diverse set of destinations with rich historical and religious significance. The economic slowdown of 2009 has resulted in Indians looking to re-discover their beautiful homeland rather than choosing international destinations that had become popular over the past couple of years. We have embraced the opportunity created by the slowdown to re-connect with our roots." said Sharat Dhall, Managing Director, TripAdvisor India.
He further added, "TripAdvisor India conducts regular surveys to understand emerging trends amongst Indian travellers. This helps us get a rare insight into the mindset of the travelling Indian."
Sleighing the winters away
Some interesting facts from the survey reveal how Indians plan to have a fun filled vacation and sleigh their way through this winter
Incredible India is the choice of most!
Amongst the travellers who planned to take a holiday this winter- 45% of the travellers wanted to travel only within India and 31% planned to travel within India and abroad, while only 25% were interested in travelling abroad.
Goa has always been a hot destination during winters and emerges as the top choice this winter as well with 35% of the travellers planning a vacation to this beach heaven . Amongst the travellers travelling abroad-37% of the traveller's planned to travel to South East Asia (Singapore, Malaysia and HongKong emerge as favourites).
Pulling the budget cart
Compared to last year, there is no indication of enhancing travel expenses this year, since 35% of the travellers planned to spend lesser than before. In fact 40% of travellers planned to spend the same amount as last year.
70% of people indicated a preference for 'Value for money' or budget hotels where a room night was priced at less than INR 3000.
Low cost Airlines, but high on loyalty!
Over 42% of travellers planned to fly only low cost airlines for their vacations this winter. Only 15% travellers showed their loyalty to full service airlines. .
Things To-Do
Embracing the outdoors for a holiday is clearly here to stay. From a fringe trend gathering steam over the last few years with a small set of people, an outdoor vacation is clearly one of the top choices for a large percentage of Indian vacationers now. This winter, a whopping 63% travellers planning to engage in an adventure activity or visit a national park!
Other interesting facts: The survey shows that visiting a spa (42%) was more popular than visiting a religious place (23%). Interestingly, a visit to the theatre or a festival has emerged as a strong choice with 35%, possibly again indicating a growing preference to soak in the cultural activities a destination has to offer.
That Indian traveller is risk averse can be deduced from the little interest they showed for gambling (4%) as an activity to participate in while on holiday.
Swish set cruising through the slowdown: The rich are still cruising through these economic times with 15% travellers planning to go on a cruise.
Rejoicing the New Year
The survey showcased varied individual preferences on welcoming the New Year. A clear indication was that travellers like to be around their friends and families:-
62% of travellers surveyed said they stay in their hometown on New Year's Eve.
Late late planners! 67% of those travelling for the New Year's eve haven't planned their travel yet.
Not Serious about New Year's Resolutions!
Indian travelers are clearly not into making resolutions or for that matter, keeping them. While 56% of travelers said that they don't even believe in them, a large 30% actually make them and never stick to them.
Katrina Kaif- Celebrity to be with
With 23% of all travellers indicating their preference to be with her on New Year's eve, Katrina is clearly ruling the charts of Bollywood and the hearts of the Indian traveller.
Going Green
A strong 33% of respondents said they would like to be more environmentally conscious during their travel in the coming year, and they are likely to choose an environmentally- friendly hotel or resort for their stay.
Get-Set-Go
How will Indian travellers prepare for their vacation this winter? 50% of travellers will take a hair cut before their vacation and 40% will shop for clothes. Vanity is clearly still in vogue with 40% wanting to be fit before the holiday season and hence going on a diet or engaging in cardio vascular exercises to lose weight.
The 'Must-Haves'
90% travellers will not leave for their vacation without a camera/ binoculars. 85% travellers felt that a credit card was an absolute necessity and will not travel without it. 73% will carry their own toiletries while 65%of the travellers will carry their own medicine box.
About TripAdvisor Media Network
TripAdvisor® Media Network, operated by TripAdvisor, LLC, attracts nearly 36 million monthly visitors* (across 15 popular travel brands, TripAdvisor®, www.airfarewatchdog.com, www.bookingbuddy.com, www.cruisecritic.com, www.familyvacationcritic.com, www.flipkey.com, www.frequentflier.com, www.holidaywatchdog.com, www.independenttraveler.com, www.onetime.com, www.seatguru.com, www.smartertravel.com, www.travel-library.com, www.travelpod.com and www.virtualtourist.com). TripAdvisor-branded sites alone make up the most popular and largest travel community in the world, with more than 25 million unique monthly visitors, 11 million+ registered members and more than 30 million reviews and opinions. Featuring real advice from real travellers, TripAdvisor-branded sites cover 500,000+ hotels and attractions and operate in the U.S. (http://www.tripadvisor.com), the U.K. (http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk), Ireland (http://www.tripadvisor.ie), France (http://www.tripadvisor.fr), Germany (http://www.tripadvisor.de), Italy (http://www.tripadvisor.it), Spain (http://www.tripadvisor.es), India (http://www.tripadvisor.in), Japan (http://www.tripadvisor.jp), Portugal and Brazil (http://www.tripadvisor.com.br), Sweden (http://www.tripadvisor.se) and The Netherlands (http://nl.tripadvisor.com). TripAdvisor® Media Network provides travel suppliers with graphical advertising opportunities and a cost-per-click marketing platform. Collectively, the sites comprising the TripAdvisor Media Network have won hundreds of awards and accolades from press and industry, worldwide. TripAdvisor and the sites comprising the TripAdvisor Media Network are operating companies of Expedia, Inc. (NASDAQ: EXPE).
*source: comScore Media Metrix, July 2009
CONTACT DETAILS
Nidhi Mehra, 20:20 Media, +91 9818331654, nidhimehra@2020india.com
Lakshita Sogani, 20:20 Media, +91 9899200649, lakshita@2020india.com
Nikhil Ganju, TripAdvisor, +91 9811299822, nganju@tripadvisor.com
KEYWORDS
CONSUMER, TOURISM, MARKETING, BUSINESS SERVICES, IT, TRAVEL, TECHNOLOGY
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