A survey on leisure travel in 2019 has revealed that a vacation with friends and family is still a priority for 47% of those who have booked holidays recently.

The Leisure Travel Survey 2019, released by FCM Travel Solutions, the Indian subsidiary of Flight Centre Travel Group, found that an increasing number of travellers are stepping out of their comfort zones and travelling to newer destinations to experience their hobbies or unexplored interests. The all-India survey covered 1,200 respondents.

Interestingly, their preference is still to explore new destinations as a friends and family group (45.6%) and not as a solo traveller. This group is further broken down with 71% opting to travel with their immediate family while the remaining choosing to include extended family and friends. Beach holidays, the hottest trend last summer, has taken a back seat (34.8%) while adventure holidays has come in second with a preference rating of 45%.

Rakshit Desai, managing director, FCM Travel Solutions, said with the rise in disposable incomes, ease of access to new and upcoming holiday destinations, and convenience in planning and booking holidays online, the number of Indians travelling abroad has multiplied exponentially. “At Travel Tours, we believe in designing the best travel packages on the basis of travel behaviour. This survey has helped us delve deeper into the psyche of the Indian traveller and also helped us tailor our offerings to suit their individual needs,” he said. The survey also found that South-East Asia continues to be a preferred destination with the Indian outbound traveller with 35.3% having visited in the last six months and 30.7% intending to visit in the next six months. This is followed by Middle East and South Asia.