The average Indian apparently does not plan to let inflation or a weak rupee dampen his/her holidays plans in the coming year and the number of Indians planning at least one international holiday a year will go up in 2012, said a survey.
"Despite the current economic climate, 44% respondents anticipate they will spend more on leisure travel next year, while 45% expect to spend the same amount as they did in 2011,"said the India Travel Trends Survey 2012 released by TripAdvisor, a travel portal on Wednesday. Indians planning at least one international holiday are up 20 percent compared to 2011, it added.
What is more surprising is that the United Kingdom leads the top-five list of international destinations for Indians, followed by Thailand, Singapore, the US and China. Though the UKtopped the list, only 8% respondents said they will travel this summer for the London 2012 Olympics. Fifty-three per cent respondents believe that 2012 is a good year to visit European economies like Italy, Greece and Spain as it will be cheaper to travel there, owing to the current debt crisis,'' said the survey.
The sample size of the survey was 890, with respondents in the age group of 21-60 years and a male-female ratio of 60:40. The survey covered a cross section of Indians, including those employed in government, public sector, private companies, multinationals and the self-employed, said a TripAdvisor, spokesperson.
Nikhil Ganju, Country Manager, TripAdvisor India, said: Forty-six per cent respondents spent more than a lakh rupee on their holidays this year & only 8% respondents said they cancelled a leisure trip in 2011 owing to the high inflationary trend.'' The year 2012 looks similarly resilient to inflation as, 65% respondents indicated they will not cut back on their leisure travel in 2012 even if the inflationary upward trend continues and 89% plan to spend same or more on their travel budget in 2012. " A majority of 40% claim the increase in fuel prices will not impact their road trips in 2012," Ganju added.
Among those interviewed for the survey, 59% said they took at least three domestic leisure trips this year and 64% said they went for atleast one international holiday. "The outlook for 2012 seems even more promising for travel with; 53% claiming they will travel more in the coming year,"said Ganju.
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