2017 sees 13% growth in foreign vacations, 8% rise in domestic travel: Report

In 2017, India witnessed an uptick of 13 percent in the number of citizens taking vacations abroad, according to a report released by global timeshare firm RCI.

The firm also reported an 8 percent growth in domestic travel, with Goa being the preferred choice.

Where do Indians prefer to holiday for international vacations?

According to the report, US was the most preferred destination in 2017-18 and for those headed for Europe, Switzerland and Spain were the top choices. The report has studied holiday and vacation patterns of 50,000 RCI members in India.

Among the South-East Asian countries, the top picks were Indonesia and Malaysia.

The report also mentioned that Australia enamours Indian travellers as a destination for exploring the Great Barrier Reef and its beautiful coastal road trips, followed by Finland, which marked its entry on the top 10 travel destinations for RCI members.

Neighbouring nations like Sri Lanka, Bhutan, Burma, Maldives also saw more Indians preferring these countries as travel destinations.

“A huge pattern that has emerged is that Indian RCI members are opting to travel international, to newer destinations like Greece, Mexico and Finland,” said Aruna Jathar, Director, Marketing and Operations, RCI India.

Preferred places for domestic travel

In India, Goa tops the chart of the most preferred travel destinations in the country and has been the number one choice for domestic travel both in 2016 and 2017. Taking the number two spot is Coorg, followed by Munnar, Ooty and Kodaikanal.

Other places making it to the top 10 list include hill stations like Mussoorie, Manali and Shimla along with destinations like Pondicherry and Lonavala.

What is leading to the growth in travel trends?