Wanderlust! Young Indians prefer spending money & time on travelling

NEW DELHI: Indian travellers are getting increasingly younger. They are also travelling and spending more than ever before, according to a survey by MakeMyTrip. 30 per cent of new travellers are in the age group of 18 to 24 years, compared to 24 per cent last year and both spending and average vacation time period is up by 10 per cent.

Data collated from bookings on MakeMyTrip scanning over 400 cities shows that on an average Indians holidayed for 7-9 days last year which has increased to 12-14 days this year with people clubbing multiple destinations in their itinerary. Spending has increased to Rs 50,000 for short-haul destinations and a lakh for long-haul trips.


Delhi and Goa were the most popular route for domestic travel. (Image: BCCL)

More people are taking 3-4 long weekend breaks in a year and a couple of short-holidays, especially during the festive season, said the survey conducted between January-June 2016. The India Travel Report 2016 also revealed that Indians took 1.7 trips this year as compared to 1.5 in the same time period in 2015.

Speaking on the report, Rajesh Magow, co-founder and CEO-India, MakeMyTrip said, “Travellers are increasingly becoming younger. Just like financial or career ambition, people now have travel ambition especially the younger generation. This has had a direct effect on the travel landscape of the country which is now being driven by young Indian travellers."

Indians made more impromptu international travel booking as 65 per cent of international travellers now plan within four weeks compared to 59 per cent until June last year. South-east Asia, middle-east, Gulf continue to be the top searched international destinations for Indian travellers. While Mumbai-Dubai was the top searched route in 2016 and saw the highest growth (71 per cent), Delhi-Goa were the most popular route for domestic travel and saw the highest growth (200 per cent).

Consequent to younger travellers, mobile usage has also increased. Mobile transactions saw a growth of 313 per cent and constitutes for 54 per cent of the total transactions, as compared to 25 per cent last year.