The Indian leisure traveller is now more open to exploring newer destinations, reveals the latest edition of the Nielsen India Outbound Monitor. A study done by the Nielsen Company in association with the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA), shows that destinations such as China, Maldives, Indonesia, the African continent and even neighbouring Bangladesh, have witnessed an increase in interest amongst Indian travellers as destinations they plan to visit in the future.

While on the current list of most visited destinations, Singapore remains the top destination for both, the business and leisure traveller, but its dominance has diminished since 2008. Said Surekha Poddar, executive director, The Nielsen Company: “The diversification in destinations indicates a greater sense of adventurism and discovery that should be heartening for tourism as a whole, and a clear symptom of a confident Indian consumer mimicking their country’s confidence and prominence. The Indian traveller is set to become a prized possession as potential spending power and disposition to travel to new countries increases.”

In terms of trips taken in the last year, Singapore’s share based on travellers indicating their most recent trip taken, has reduced to 24% from 32% in 2008. Similarly, for business travel its share has fallen from 25% in 2008 to 15% in 2010. Malaysia ranks second for leisure travel and Dubai for business travel.

Countries that have shown a rise in business traffic from India include Japan, China, and Sri Lanka. On the whole, Asian countries account for 76% of leisure travel by Indians and 63% for business travel. Regions such as Europe attract a higher percentage of business traffic (14%) rather than leisure (10%).

The top reasons which drive destination choice for leisure travellers are visiting friends/ relatives (26%), range of leisure and entertainment activities (18%), and scenic/natural beauty of the destination (10%). Visiting friends/ relatives is the most cited reason for older travellers and their destinations largely tend to be USA and the UK. The corporate segment which forms the bulk of business travellers, choose destinations based on perceived business conduciveness for conferences and off-sites.

“Countries competing for Indian globetrotters can take definitive cues from the drivers of destination decision-making. By showcasing their receptivity to visitors and a variety of recreational facilities ‘country’ marketers can hope to become the destination of choice,” said Poddar.

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