47% of Indians ready to rethink itineraries for irresistible travel deals, says report

47 per cent of Indians are savvy travellers who are flexible to switch their itineraries when presented with better travel deals, reveals global travel marketplace Skyscanner’s ‘Travel in Focus Report’.

Skyscanner released a report on Tuesday, which shows that when it comes to international holidays, 35 per cent of Indians are also willing to pick a less expensive destination to travel to or travel at a different time of year. Even though Indian travellers are, in fact, prominent planners, 72 per cent of respondents prefer to plan their trips thoroughly.

Commenting on the findings, Mohit Joshi, Skyscanner Travel Trends and Destination Expert, said: “While the way we travel has no doubt changed in the last few years, the desire for a getaway is still very much there. Skyscanner makes it possible for travellers to explore the world within their budget with its cross-market comparison and transparency of prices on its platform. An easy hack to hit that sweet spot is to use our ‘Everywhere’ search tool, where destinations are recommended based on the traveller’s location, ranked by price. That way, you get to explore without breaking the bank.”

Other key findings of the report:

Cricket Fiver: Around 75 per cent say they are willing to increase their travel budget to experience live cricket matches. With the upcoming 2023 Cricket World Cup held in India, there is already a 46 per cent spike in searches from within India to Ahmedabad, one of the host cities, for October this year. Despite strong demand, prices on Skyscanner reveal that flights to Ahmedabad from Mumbai are 36 per cent lower for June 2023 than June 2022.

In 2023, Indian travellers are taking it slow, with 46 per cent more travellers opting for more immersive travel over fast-paced travel, which is 40 per cent, said the report.

Rather than visiting as many places as possible, travellers are looking to spend more time in a single destination, immersing themselves in the local culture. According to the Skyscanner report, over 38 per cent of Indian travellers spend longer than one month on a single-destination trip, including domestic and international destinations, based on redirect data for the year 2023, which is significantly more when compared to travellers in Singapore (3 per cent) and South Korea (8 per cent).

About 55 per cent of Indians are planning purpose-related travel in India to engage in activities such as scuba diving, golf, yoga, or wellness retreats. One in two Indians also plan to visit holy places in the next six months, the report added.