While travelling by air, Indians have the highest (24 per cent) level of tolerance globally towards crying, whining or misbehaved children, according to a recent study on in-flight behaviour and preferences.
"Indians have the highest tolerance globally for inattentive parents, who have no control over or pay no attention to their crying, whining or misbehaved children," according to Expedia Passenger Preference Index 2016.
The study revealed that while along with India, travellers from countries, China (18 per cent) and Hong Kong (22) are tolerant towards inattentive parents globally, people from Mexico, Norway, New Zealand (42 per cent) are most intolerant towards such behaviour.
The study was conducted on behalf of Expedia by Northstar, a globally integrated strategic insights consulting firm, online from December 11-29, 2015 across North America, Europe, South America and Asia Pacific.
The study was conducted among 11,026 adults, who have flown on an airplane in the past two years, across 22 countries.
Indians globally are most intolerant towards the armrest hoggers, towards those window seat passengers who make frequent visits to the bathroom, for passangers who remove their shoes, socks or a few too many layers of clothing, back seat grabbers and for amorous couples, it said.
"A massive 74 per cent of travellers will pay for added comfort on a short haul flight, and the number further jumps to 89 per cent on long or extra-long haul flights," Expedia India Marketing Head Manmeet Ahluwalia said.
"Indians lead globally in paying extra for a window seat (34 per cent) or an aisle seat (10 per cent), for a snack (36 per cent) and a non-alcoholic beverage (16 per cent) on board a short-haul flight. For 84 per cent Indians, comfort is more important than style while travelling by air," he said.
The study also reveals that India leads globally, with 22 per cent saying they have gotten into an argument with a fellow passenger, followed by Mexico and the US.
Also, Indians are most active at 30,000 feet, the study found, with only 32 per cent Indians sleeping followed by China and Mexico (35 per cent).
Expedia is the world's leading full service online travel agency with localised sites in 31 countries.
Some cities in Europe have also emerged in the top
five list, owing to the growing interest in off beat destinations.
Budapest in Hungary at number two (14 per cent), Madrid (Spain) at number three (10 per cent) and Amsterdam in the Netherland at number five (2.5 per cent) mainly owing to top grosser Bollywood movies, which showcased their travel potential.
Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia) remains in the top five with 5 per cent for obvious reasons like an excellent tourist attraction, providing great food and shopping experiences.
Skyscanner's Growth Manager, India, Reshmi Roy said, "Each year the Skyscanner Travel Trend Report discovers more attributes of Indian travellers. In 2016, we saw the list heavily-dominated with South Asian destinations, in 2017 there has been a seismic shift to incorporate the near and far - from Australia to Europe. This is an indication on changing travel mindset as travel becomes simpler and easier.
