Chennai: If a trip is on the cards, many seldom look for a special occasion or holiday to travel. As per the latest trend in travel, Indians are now getting used to overcome monotony in their life by undertaking short trips using convenient transport options.
Distance to the destination for a majority of travellers (about 83 per cent) does not appear to matter at all. This indicates that logistics is no longer seen as a barrier and travellers now just like to go with the flow. The survey by OYO, which coincided with Dussehra holidays, was anchored to the theme of employing travel to defeat modern-day evils, providing a deeper insight as to why people travel.
The survey that received responses from over 800 customers from 180 Indian cities reflected India’s travel aspirations. Apart from 7 per cent travel to pilgrimage destinations, several people loved leisure travel through a convenient transportation option to break away from the monotony of urban life.
“The survey helped us to identify key travel drivers for different customer-sets and their needs. For example, we inferred that people prefer to travel to Kerala and Manali to combat evils of stress, traffic and pollution. Also, without exception all groups surveyed have displayed an overwhelming preference for natural and serene retreats - highlighting that we travel to escape our hyper-connected existence,” said Kavikrut Chief Growth Officer, OYO.
Indians prefer free Wi-Fi at hotels
An analysis of behaviour and preferences of Indians while booking hotels showed that 94 per cent of them obsessed with social media prefer a free Wi-Fi connection at a hotel, while 37 per cent are unwilling to pay for the same.
The Hotel Etiquette survey (by Expedia - Online Travel Agent (OTA) for 2016) highlights some interesting facts about preferences of Indian travellers while booking a hotel. Most preferred medium of booking a hotel among 35 per cent Indians is either a desktop, laptop or a computer followed by mobile app on smartphone or tablets used by 29 per cent while 14 per cent travellers book through mobile web using smartphone or tablets.
