Indians going for shorter but multiple holidays, says survey

NEW DELHI: The modern Indian traveller is opting for more holidays and shorter duration trips instead of the longer breaks he preferred earlier. On the go more often than before and seeking newer, immersive experiences, the discerning Indian traveller is on the look out for better holiday deals and greater flexibility in holiday planning funded with her savings rather than loans, according to a trends survey ‘India Holiday Report 2019’ by SOTC.
“Travel has become an indispensable part of the Indian consumers lifestyle across all age groups. What is also striking is that while 40% of travellers travel abroad, about 88% travellers pick domestic destinations to explore, ” Daniel D’souza, president and country head, leisure at SOTC Travel, told TOI.
Undaunted by costs, the budget traveller is also going the extra mile for her vacations. D’Souza said SOTC has registered a 12% year-on-year increase in people choosing the EMI option for paying for their holidays, while a large chunk across age categories is also swiping their credit and debit cards for financing options and cash back offers.
Compiled through a research of over 1,100 respondents across key cities in India, the report explores travel behaviours of four age segments, the under 25 year-old, 26 to 35 years, 36 to 55 years, and 56 years and above to understand their holiday preferences, research and booking styles, as well as their holiday funding patterns.
The India Holiday Report also showed the Gen Z and millennials picked international short-haul vacations to Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and Sri Lanka, while Goa, Kerala, Andaman, Uttaranchal, North East were the domestic favourites.
Seniors and baby boomers — those between the age groups of 55 and 75 — have also started embracing international holidays; a whopping 83% have at least one international holiday on their annual holiday calendar with destinations like Switzerland, UK, France, USA, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, apart from Japan and Korea emerging as the go-to holiday places.
The tech-savvy travellers are also more likely to book online than visit stores and travel agents, forcing travel companies like SOTC to revamp websites. “The customer survey is more an effort to address the needs of the travellers rather than push our own ideas on them, as would happen before,” D’Souza said, adding that Indias now seek broad structures to their holiday and like to decide what to do in them while on the move rather than planning the minutiae before they set out.
The Centre’s push to promote domestic tourism also seems to have caught the imagination of the Indian traveller, reflecting in the 12% jump in tourists picking destinations at home in comparison to 2015. The report shows 92% respondents took domestic holidays in this four-year period in comparison to the 80% in 2015, and leisure, combined with spiritual journeys, is witnessing a jump in popularity.
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References

1. ^{^} Dubai (www.happytrips.com)
2. ^{^} Switzerland (timesofindia.indiatimes.com)
3. ^{^} France (www.happytrips.com)
4. ^{^} Australia (timesofindia.indiatimes.com)
5. ^{^} Japan (timesofindia.indiatimes.com)

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