Chennai: A majority of Indians are hooked on to electronic gadgets while on travel and appear to spend less time interacting with fellow travellers or even expect a window with a view.
A recent survey by a leading online travel agency reveals that 85 per cent of Indians currently have and use a laptop and this makes Indians fourth highest in the world in usage after Denmark: 89 per cent, Austria: 86 per cent and Norway: 86 per cent. About 86 per cent of Indians have and use a smartphone.
This study conducted on behalf of Expedia by Northstar, a globally integrated strategic insights consulting firm, claims the survey highlights the maturation of Indian travellers who are fast moving up the ladder of travel apps and are no longer hooked with conventional modes of bookings. About 95 per cent find smartphone critically important while 75 per cent of Indians have booked hotels using mobile app.
This online survey was conducted from August 25 to September 17, this year across North America, Europe, South America and Asia Pacific using the Kantar-owned GMI (Global Market Insite) and Lightspeed Research amalgamated group of panels, among 8,856 employed adults aged 18 years of age and older across 25 countries.
“We decided to conduct this survey to understand the booking behaviour of the neo Indian travellers. The findings clearly suggest an increasing dependency on the mobile platform,” says Vikram Malhi, MD, Asia, Expedia.
When travelling for pleasure, Indians are more likely than other travellers to use tablets to book hotels, shop for ground transportation and document / capture travel expenses. Indians rank second highest in carrying laptops with them on leisure trips (47 %) after UAE (48 %) and are the most likely to travel with a Smartwatch on leisure trips (9 %).
