Mores of Indian travellers

| | in Sunday Pioneer
Mores of Indian travellers

SHALINI SAKSENA tells you why the Asian traveller is a force to reckon with and how the Indian tourist behaviour is being studied deeply

Asia is today the world’s largest travel market, yet the vast majority of its population has yet to travel beyond its borders. This makes the Asian traveller a force to be reckoned with — one that presents the greatest opportunity for the travel industry, but also many challenges. To move the industry towards a closer understanding of travellers in the region, Amadeus has launched Journey of Me Insights, an Asia Pacific traveller study spanning 14 markets.

Albert Pozo, president of Amadeus Asia Pacific said: “There is no traveller today quite as important as the Asia Pacific traveller. Yet the irony is that even as we talk about the Asia Pacific traveller — it doesn’t exist. The diversity we see across nationalities, gender and generation in this region is astounding. More than that, our research has shown us that the preferences, behaviours and demands of travellers vary enormously from one country to another. The industry must come to grips with this. The one-size-fits-all approach is a thing of the past.”

As part of the project, there is a report on Indian travellers titled  Journey of Me Insights: What Indian travellers want. It talks about when and how Indian travellers plan and book their trips, to how and why they want to stay connected while travelling, to how frequently they use sharing economy services, and the types of new technologies they would be most interested in, the study takes a multi-faceted look at what Indian travellers want.

There were four interesting findings. First, there are many Asians within Asia: The most dominant observation is that there is no consistent profile for the Asia Pacific traveller.  For example, while 66% of Chinese travellers do most of their trip booking on mobile, only 55% of Indian travellers do so. And while 73% of Indian travellers think it’s important to find service staff at the destination that speak a language they understand, only half (47%) of Malaysians do, with Hong Kong travellers (4%) even less likely to think the same.

Second, the personalisation-privacy paradox: 64% of Asia Pacific travellers would be willing to trade personal data for more relevant offers and personalised experiences. Somewhat more cautious, 71% of Indian travellers feel the same.

Third, get real: Recommendations they can trust: When planning trips, Indian travellers are most influenced by word of mouth from friends, family and colleagues as well as online booking sites. These online booking and travel review sites were likewise voted most likely to have sent them relevant recommendations about travel.

Four, the right content, through the right channel, at the right time: While the vast majority of Indian travellers would be interested in receiving travel recommendations from the moment they consider a trip all the way up to while they are on the trip, travel players must consider carefully how to connect with them and with what content. 34% of Indian travellers prefer to receive updates and recommendations about their trip through e-mail, with only 9% happy to be contacted via phone call. Recommendations that help ensure personal safety was the top choice for Indian travellers (33%), while itinerary tips were less popular (19%).

Rakesh Bansal, Chief Executive Office, Amadeus India tells you that the goal is to help the travel industry thrive by putting the traveller at the centre of everything we do. “That’s why we’re investing to understand who they are and what they want. The India report gives us many interesting insights — some expected, others less so. One key observation was how important finding staff, newspapers and TV shows in a language they can understand to Indian travellers. Similarly, respondents from India want to eat familiar food while travelling overseas. This is a good reminder to travel players about the importance of accommodating local preferences at the destination. We hope to help our customers and partners shape a future of travel that travellers want, Bansal says.”

The other findings are:

  • 39% of Indian respondents do most of their travel planning during weekends, which is higher than the regional average (32%), followed by others options like during holidays (24%), after work on weekdays (17%) and while at work (13%). Only 7% of respondents plan their travel while commuting from one place to another.
  • Online booking websites (50%), social networks. (48%) and travel review sites (47%) are the top 3 channels that have sent travellers relevant recommendations. Indian travellers receive the most relevant travel recommendations through online channels (60%), more than other APAC travellers (50%). They also find travel review sites to be relevant (54% vs 47% APAC average).
  • Most respondents research their trips (80%) and make bookings (80%) on laptops or desktop computers. Having said that, research and bookings on mobiles and tablets is higher than the regional average.
  • Indian travellers have quite different reasons for staying connected while travelling compared to other APAC travellers. 52% want to keep up to date with what is happening in the world (compared to 43% across APAC), 46% want to stay updated with work/business (vs. 32% APAC wide), 43% want to use apps to meet new people using travel and social apps (compared to only 28% across APAC), and 47% want to be able to use convenience apps (versus 34% in APAC). Indian travellers are committed to their work, open to meeting new people but looking for convenience while travelling.
  • Indian travellers are avid users of roaming packages while travelling abroad. 44% (vs. 33%) opt for roaming as you go services, and 50% (vs. 36%) purchase roaming packages in their home country before travelling.
  • Indian travellers are avid users of sharing economy apps and services compared to other APAC travellers. They are embracing these services with 73% using Apps like Uber, Grab, Lyft, Ola, Didi Chuxing etc. to get around during my trip. Almost half (48%) use Airbnb, couch surfing for stays, more than the 29% APAC average.