Expedia, one of the world’s largest online travel agency, today released the Holiday Activity Report 2015, an analysis of travel behavior and preferences across multiple cities in India. The survey was conducted with 520 respondents across Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Pune and Hyderabad. The survey highlights that 48% Indians travelled for a specific/set of holiday activities this summer and decided their destinations accordingly.
“Holiday activities are picking up amongst Indian travellers. This is evident from the fact that almost half of them decide the activities and then plan their destination this year. The traveller evolution is happening at a faster pace now that they have access vast amounts of information available at review sites, OTAs and metasearch portals. They have much more clarity than 5years back and play a critical role in travel planning. While 56% Indians preferred to travel in peak season, 44% chose off season. More than their budgets, they are anxious about wasting time, standing in long queues for tickets to theme parks and museums (22%), with uncertainty on ticket availability as well said Mr. Vikram Malhi, Managing Director, Asia, Expedia.
The survey also revealed that 48% Indians are interested in cultural events like Carnivals, Oktoberfest and Tomatina festival. 55% wish to check out the city specific activities & cultural performance. 31% Indians wish to explore the city with locals and enjoy knowing their culture and 48% Indian talk and interact more with the locals. 30% wish to indulge in adventure sports, whereas 21% are curios collectors 47% Indian want to discover unexplored destinations,” he added.
Expedia globally offers amazing discounts on the most popular holiday activities in top international cities. These activities can be purchased from the Expedia website across the globe. London Eye, London Hop on Hop Off Tour, Madame Tussauds, Stonehenge Trip have always interested the travelers visiting London; whereas, at Singapore Universal Studios Singapore Admission has always been in demand. The Las Vegass Grand Canyon West Rim Tour, Grand Canyon Helicopter Landing Tour, Mystre™ by Cirque du Soleil and New York City’s Explorer Pass, Hop On Hop Off Tour, All-Day Hop-On Hop-Off Cruise by New York Water Taxi are some activities that help tourists to explore these places with ease. Rome’s Colosseum & Best of Rome Combo Tour, Evening City Stroll with Italian Aperitivo visits have increased over time with people wanting to know more about the history and culture of the place.
Dubai’s Sunset Desert Safari & Half-Day City Tour, Helicopter Sightseeing Experience Tour, Hop On Hop Off Tour offers the perfect plater to enjoy the beauty of the city and Hong Kong’s sky100 Hong Kong Observation Deck Admission and Orlando’s SeaWorld, Legoland, Pirates Dinner Adventure are the activities that every tourist enjoys.
Appended are the detailed findings of the survey:
Travelers Choice: Destination or Experience
– 67% Indians decide the destination first and then plan activities
-
Delhiites lead the pack at 72% followed by Pune (70%), Bangalore (69%) and Mumbai (68%)
– 33% Indians travel for a specific activity/ experience
-
Hyderabadis top experience junkies at 45%, while the least being Delhiites (28%)
Against the current path..
– While 56% Indians preferred to travel in peak season, 44% chose off season
-
Bangaloreans highest to prefer off season at 55%
– Key reasons include- better deals on flights & hotels (60%), less crowd (56%), no children running around making noise (33%), easier to get leave (27%), better service in hotels (24%)
-
Hyderabadis least interested in travelling in off-season at 32%
OMG! Will I get the best deal
– Indians travelers most anxious about landing the best deals (40%), trip partners backing out at last minute (23%), standing in long queues for tickets to theme parks and museums (22%), budget (20%), shopping gifts for friends & relatives (17%)
-
Getting the best deals: Hyderabadis (45%) and Puneites (42%) most anxious, while Bangaloreans and Delhiites least anxious at 37%
-
Trip partners backing out at last minute: Puneites (30%) & Delhiites (26%) most anxious, Bangaloreans (16%) & Mumbaiites (22%)
-
Standing in long queues for tickets to theme parks and museums: Delhiites (28%) lead, followed by Bangaloreans (23%), Puneites (23%), Hyderabadis (22%); least anxious Mumbaiites (18%)
-
Budget: Hyderabadis (25%) & Mumbaiites (23%) lead while Delhiites don’t care as much (17%)
-
Shopping gifts for friends and relatives: Hyderabad (25%) & Delhiites (24%) top the list, while Bangaloreans (5%) and Mumbaiites (8%) aren’t bothered as much
– Indians travelers least anxious about Excess baggage (2%) and asking for leaves (4%)
-
Mumbaiites (8%) and Puneiites (7%) most anxious about asking for leaves
Booking Activity
– 57% Indians prefer to book online while booking their flights and hotels, while 18% prefer to get the activity tickets from the hotel concierge. 25% Indians book the holiday activity ticket at the venue itself
– Advance booking while booking flights & hotels: Bangalore (71%) Delhi (62%), Hyderabad (57%), Pune (48%) and Mumbai (45%)
– From Hotel concierge: Delhi (26%), Pune (20%), Mumbai (18%), Hyderabad (17%) and Bangalore (10%)
– At the venue: Mumbai (37%), Pune (32%), Hyderabad (26%), Bangalore (19%) and Delhi (12%)
– For 60% Indians, booking online is easier and 37% find more activity options available. 33% Indians get more suggestions on popular tours/ activities and for 30% its economical.
-
Easy to book: Mumbai, Pune and Bangalore (57%), Delhi (54%) and Hyderabad 40%
-
Offers more activity options: Bangalore (42%), Delhi (40%), Mumbai (35%), Hyderabad at 34% and Pune 32%
-
Offers suggestions on popular tours/activities: Bangalore 35%, Delhi 34%, Hyderabad and Pune at 32% and Mumbai 31%
-
Economical: 35% from Mumbai, 34% from Delhi, 28% Hyderabad, 26% Pune and 25% from Bangalore feel this way
Expensive Forex, Damn it!
– 67% Indian vacationers resilient to currency fluctuations, Delhi on top (72%), Hyderabad at bottom (53%)
– If the dollar got cheaper
– 66% Indian travelers will spend more on activities while 55% will extend the days of the vacation
-
Bangaloreans (83%) & Delhiites (77%) have the highest propensity to spend on activities, while Hyderabadis have the least (53%)
-
Pune-ites (64%), Delhiites (63%) & Hyderabadis (60%) take the lead in extending vacation days, least being Mumbaiites (40%)
– 31% will try and squeeze in nearby destinations and 29% will spend more on shopping
-
Delhiites choose to spend the highest in shopping amongst other cities (63%) followed by Bangaloreans (31%), Hyderabadis (21%), Mumbaiites (21%)
– Only 14% will upgrade their hotel accommodation
-
Delhiites (23%) and Mumbai (21%) lead the pack
– If the dollar got expensive
– 63% Indian travelers would cut down on shopping
-
Pune-ites the highest to cut down on shopping at 75% followed by Bangalore at 66%
-
Mumbaiites least to cut down shopping at 57%
– 38% would look at shifting to a more affordable destination
-
Mumbaiites most willing at 52%, while Bangaloreans (24%) are least willing to
– 32% would avoid places of interest that are ticketed
-
Mumbiites (48%) & Puneiites (46%) most conscious while Delhiites are least conscious at (37%)
– 32% would downgrade hotel star category
– Delhiites (43%) & Bangalore (38%) on top to downgrade on the hotel category while Mumbaiites (21%) track at the bottom
– 25% would reduce vacation days
-
Mumbaiites lead the list at 33% followed by Hyderabad at 27%
-
Bangaloreans (17%) and Puneites (18%) least willing to reduce vacation days
What do we actually do on a vacation Absorb a new experience!!!
– 36% Indians wish to explore River/Sea Cruise and Theme Parks and 34% wish to head to Beaches this year. Only 6% Indian wish to visit the Deserts and 10% to the Casinos and Countryside with lakes this
-
39% travelers from Pune and 38% from Bangalore are the most interested to go to the Beach this year whereas only 28% from Mumbai wish to go to the beaches
-
31% Bangalorean and 30% from Pune wish to travel to the snow-capped mountains and only 14% from Hyderabad wish to visit their
-
40% from Bangalore and 38% from Mumbai wish to go for a River/Sea Cruise
-
9% each from Pune and Mumbai wish to go to the deserts this summer and only 1% Bangaloreans wish to travel their
-
Theme Park is another attraction that has picked up with 42% from Hyderabad and 39% from Pune interested.
-
Only 21% people from Delhi and Pune would like to visit a Spa Retreat this summers
-
25% travelers from Hyderabad would like to take a trip to Forests/National Reserve and Gamming Safari
– 48% Indians are interested in cultural events like Carnivals, Oktoberfest, Tomatina and 26% are interested in Sports/ Adventure sports
-
100% Pune-ites are interested in attending music and cultural events and they have no interest in Food/wine, Art & History, Exhibitions, Movie or theatre fest
-
67% Mumbai-kers are interested in Cultural Fest and 50% in Food/Wine
-
50% Delhi-ites wish to go for sports and adventure and only 33% wish to attend cultural fests
Activities on mind…
– 94% Indians are shopaholic wherever they go and 55% wish to check out the city specific activities & cultural performance. 47% Indian want to discover unexplored destinations
-
100% people from Bangalore, Delhi, Hyderabad and Pune wish to shop even while travelling
-
71% from Pune and 64% from Mumbai wish to enjoy city specific activities and cultural performances while only 38% from Hyderabad wish to do that
-
Discovering unexplored destinations are enjoyed by Pune at 57% at Mumbai at 50%
-
Experimenting with local cuisines and drinks gauge interest by only 57% travelers from Mumbai
– Day excursion and river/sea cruise create maximum interest from Indians when travelling for vacation at 59% and 48% respectively. Whereas, only 11% wish for a Luxury car drive
-
67% travelers from Hyderabad and 60% each from Pune and Delhi wish to enjoy the river/sea cruise, whereas only 33% from Mumbai wish to do that
-
Adventure sports only interests from 60% Delhi-iets and 33% from Mumbai whereas 0% from Bangalore, Hyderabad and Pune wish to do that
-
Day Excursion is something that everyone wants to try out, 100% of Hyderabad and 60% of Delhi, Bangalore, Pune wish to do it
-
Club crawling & Pubbing and Guided tours to Red light areas has 40% of Bangaloreans interested
-
Cabarets/Lido/Tiffany’s Show has 67% from Hyderabad and 40% from Bangalore, Delhi and Pune interested
Indulgences Galore!
-
31% Indians wish to explore the city with locals and 30% wish to indulge in Adventure sports, whereas 21% are curios collectors. 20% wish to sleep during their vacation and 15% Indians wish to over eat.
-
24% Delhi-ites and 23% Hyderabadis wish to enjoy their vacation sleeping. 22% Bangalorean, 18% Pune-ites and 14% Mumbaikars fall in the same category
-
17% each of Delhi-ites and Bangalorean wish to eat till they don’t fit in their cloths. Followed by 14%, 13% and 12% respectively by Hyderabad, Pune and Mumbai
-
Only 17% and 16% of Hyderabadi and Mumbaikars respectively and 12% each of Pune and Delhi and 11% Bangalorean wish to get intimate with their partners with summer vacation
-
17% Delhi-ites and 16% Hyderabadis enjoy Shopping for stuff they don’t need followed by 9%, 8%, 7% respectively by Bangalore, Pune and Mumbai
-
37% Pune-ites and 33% Mumbaikars wish to enjoy adventure sports whereas only 22% Hyderabadis wish to do that
-
39% Bangaloreans like to explore the city with the locals compared to 21% Pune-ites
-
28% Pune-ites are curios collectors topping the list compared to 17% Bangalorean
-
13% Mumbaikars wish to spend on Spa treat to detoxify & rejuvenate and only 9% Hyderabadis enjoy the same
Yes, we are Social Beings!!!
-
25% Indians either never post on social media during vacation or do so once they are back from vacation
-
25% Pune-ites post multiple times on social media and 0% Bangaloreans wish to do that during vacations
-
35% Delhi-ites prefer to not post anything on social media while they are on vacation compared to 8% from Pune
-
28% Delhi-ites prefer to post once a day on social media while on vacation and only 20% Mumbaikars do the same
-
30% Pune-ites post at-least once a week on social media and only 16% do the same during vacation
-
48% Indian talk and interact more with the locals and 28% don’t interact much with locals
-
54% from Bangalore top in interacting with locals and at 39% Delhi is the least interested
-
15% from Hyderabad wish to mingle/hang out with Indians and 9% from Bangalore wish to do the same
-
14% Bangaloreans wish to avoid Indian who are loud & litter around whereas only 10% Delhi-ites wish the same
-
30% from Pune wish to be on their own and don’t interact much whereas 26% from Bangalore and Mumbai feel the same
Methodology
The study was conducted on behalf of Expedia by Access Media International, a globally integrated strategic insights consulting firm. This survey was conducted online from April 15 to May 12, 2015 across Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Pune. The study was conducted among 520 employed adults aged 18 years of age and older.
About Expedia
Expedia is the worlds largest full service online travel agency with localized sites in 31 countries. Expedia is a one-stop solution for all travel needs, with a comprehensive and distinctive suite of travel solutions covering over 30,000 cities in over 200 countries with 5000 holiday activities and 400+ airlines worldwide. Expedia helps consumers not only book flights, hotels, buses and tourist attractions globally, but also provides services like visa and car rentals, supported by a 24×7 call center in India. The portal also features over 11million independent and verified traveller reviews; the portal allows access to reviews by Indian travellers, to help consumers make an apt hotel choice.
-
-
-
-
-
