STRONG RUPEE CUES OVERSEAS TRAVEL: YATRA.COM
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As per a survey released by Yatra.com, India’s most preferred online travel company, 89 per cent Indians are enthusiastic to explore international destinations this summer. 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.
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 6 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 Rs.68 to the US dollar, the strong resurgence of the rupee to Rs.59 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 further revealed that Europe, the United States and the South East Asian countries are the top destinations of choice, followed by Turkey and Mauritius in that order. Yatra.com also found that the 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 at 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 Rs. 10,000 on hotel stay, and only 5 per cent were willing to spend more than Rs. 40,000 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.
The survey was conducted among 4,000 individuals out of which 71 per cent were either professionals or self-employed.