While last year saw most travellers opting for domestic travel due to the rupee depreciating to drastically low lows, this year more Indians are making international travel plans with the appreciating rupee. As per a survey released by Yatra.com, 89 per cent Indians are enthusiastic to explore international destinations this summer.
Yatra survey found that 78 per cent of travellers were planning a holiday abroad while hoping for the rupee to rise further, 16 per cent were willing to go even if the rupee stayed unchanged, and the balance six per cent said that they remained undecided on their travel plans.
Sharat Dhall, president, Yatra.com, commented, ?As compared to last year, where we saw the rupee devalue to over INR68 to the US dollar, the strong resurgence of the rupee to INR59 this year has kick-started a significant surge in overseas travel due to attractive savings on air tickets. We have observed an increase of over 32 per cent in travellers’ booking our international holiday packages this year.?
The survey also revealed that Europe, the United States and South East Asian countries are the top destinations of choice, followed by Turkey and Mauritius in that order. Yatra.com also found that travellers are willing to go the extra mile by increasing their outlay on holiday getaways. 49 per cent travellers considered upgrading their hotel due to the rupee appreciation.
22 per cent travellers still look closely at their budgets when deciding hotel stay, 19 per cent prefer staying at a hotel that they have stayed earlier and 16 per cent travellers opt for a hotel based on recommendations from friends and family. About 15 per cent of travellers look for services at the property to decide their stay. The survey also found that 46 per cent travellers would prefer spending less than INR10,000 on hotel stay, and only five per cent were willing to spend more than INR40,000 on their accommodation.
The survey data also suggests a trend towards tranquil travel this time with 41 per cent travellers preferring to relax during their break, while 26 per cent of the travellers plan to spend their time shopping. The survey also found travellers deciding on their place of vacation depending on food, experiential activities and sightseeing.
