Rising costs deter a large number of Indian travellers from taking vacation, according to a recent survey by travel company Expedia.
The survey - conducted among 11,165 adults across 24 countries on behalf of Expedia by Northstar, a globally integrated strategic insights consulting firm - said 56 per cent of Indian respondents decided not to take a vacation in the past five years because of cost reasons. Thirty-two per cent Indians chose not to take vacation in the past two years against a global average of 50 per cent.
Notably, the survey revealed that Indians are good at saving for their vacations in advance and having a dedicated vacation fund. Eighty-five per cent of Indian travellers save for the vacation six months in advance. By contrast, travellers from Japan and the Netherlands are least likely to save in advance for their vacations (53 per cent and 55 per cent, respectively).
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Indians top the global list of travellers who hate to pay for travel, out-of-country medical and car rental insurance. They also dedicate 19 per cent of their travel budget to flights, 16 per cent to accommodation and 14 per cent to food. The least amount of the travel budget goes to alcoholic beverages - four per cent.
When it comes to splurging, Indian travellers are more likely than their global counterparts to pay extra for a room with a view, hotel with room service or restaurant, in-flight wi-fi, transportation-related services, etc. Globally, the survey said Hong Kongers and Indians splurge the most on hotel-related services - at 88 per cent and 87 per cent, respectively.
In flight, 76 per cent Indians like to buy food and 80 per cent shop for duty-free goods at the airport.
