Globus Family of Brands releases survey on Indian Leisure Travel Trends to Europe

In order to better understand and chart the evolution of the Indian outbound market, Globus Family of Brands conducted a survey focusing on leisure travel trends to Europe. The survey report, which was released recently, categorised leisure travel to Europe in four segments: Indian-operated coach tours, international coach tours, independent travel and cruising. The findings of the survey which was conducted online and offline, with 1,500 experienced travellers, revealed that the top deciding factors when choosing a vacation were price, followed by itinerary choices and the brand name of the tour operator.

As per the survey results, the choice of hotels was varied, with 49 per cent preferring budget hotels and a tour price of less than USD100 a day, 23 per cent desiring at least first-class hotels and the rest choosing superior tourist hotels. Coach tours emerged as most popular with first time travellers (60 per cent) of respondents, while only 32 per cent of first time travellers wanted to explore Europe on their own. The remaining, according to the survey are likely to choose river or ocean cruises. With regards to choice of destinations, European panorama vacations combining three to four countries are favourites among first-timers and the top countries they want to visit are Switzerland, Italy, France, and Great Britain. The criterion of the sample set for the survey was the past international travel experience of the respondents. Those who did not own passports and had not travelled overseas before could not participate in the survey. 65 per cent of respondents were based in metros and 98 per cent owned cars and participated in at least one social networking site.

According to the survey findings, as many as 72 per cent of the respondents wanted a Tour Director to help on a tour to Europe, but only with certain things. This highlights the changing trend, as travellers want the conveniences of coach touring, but with some independence. 75 per cent wanted to have the must-see sites included while retaining some free time to explore on their own. With regards to vacation packages which include sightseeing, 47 per cent prefer that must-see sites are included but want a choice of optional activities for flexibility. This is in contrast to the 38 per cent who wanted all sightseeing included and 15 per cent who wanted to do everything on their own.

"These trends are comparable to international trends and are substantiated with the growth we have seen in our Cosmos and Globus coach vacations that offer balanced itineraries with the must-see sites along with free time to allow people to enjoy their own experiences during their vacation," informed Gauri Jayaram, Regional Director South Asia & Middle East, Globus Family of Brands.

The survey also brought out the changing pattern in the culinary requirements of Indians while traveling. While Indians are famous for taking along their food overseas when touring, the survey indicates that this is changing as only 14 per cent wanted to have all meals included and only Indian meals. As many as 66 per cent of respondents wanted few meals included in the tour price with the opportunity to sample local cuisine. (This could be due to demographics of the sample size, wherein those living in metropolitan areas are possibly more prone to sampling different cuisines.). "This is an important indication of the traveller maturing. Food is such an important part of a cultural experience and this shows the willingness of Indians to experiment and experience the destination for what it is. We offer only local/continental cuisine when it is included and we have grown our market share by highlighting this as our USP!" added Jayaram. She further added, "Our leading brand in India is Cosmos, a leader in budget travel. This year, our best sellers are from the 14 vacations that cost less than USD 1000 (prices on land basis only) per person, but our growth is with Globus, which offers premium escorted tours. This means that Indians don't always want the cheapest. They want the best value for their money." The Globus Family of Brands includes Globus, Cosmos, Monograms, and Avalon Waterways.

SOURCE: Travelbizmonitor.com
By TBM Staff
Date - March 16, 2010
Location - Mumbai