Depreciating Rupee, soaring airfares and budgetary concerns loom large, indicates TripAdvisor’s Traveller Sentiment Survey.

TripAdvisor®, the world’s largest online travel site, today shared the results of its Traveller Sentiment Survey. The survey is a quick check on the pulse of Indian travellers and aims to capture peoples’ travel sentiments against the backdrop of the current challenging economic conditions.

Half the surveyed respondents perceive the current performance of the Indian economy as ’poor’. 66% believe that the economy is going to stay in the current state over the next 6 months or weaken further. Still, the intention to travel remains strong, with 41 % respondents wanting to take more holidays in 2013 as compared to 2012. This figure remains constant when compared to estimates conveyed in the holiday forecast at the beginning of 2013.

Nikhil Ganju, Country Manager, TripAdvisor India, says: “The survey indicates that while budgetary concerns, economic uncertainty and the weakening Rupee are driving travellers to alter their holidays, but they don’t seem ready to abandon their vacation plans as yet. Though the balance may have tipped marginally in favour of domestic holidays, overall holiday estimates remain healthy with 60% respondents still looking at taking between 2-4 holidays this year.”

Domestic holidays hold steady

Plans for domestic holidays show no detraction from travellers’ estimates for 2013 taken at the beginning of the year, indicating that domestic vacations stay stable. Providing that little extra impetus to domestic travel, 19% respondents in the survey said they replaced their international holiday with a domestic one, on account of the staggering fall in Rupee value.

Foreign holidays: Down but not out

Foreign holidays see a marginal dip but traveller sentiment stays optimistic on heading overseas for vacation. 36% respondents believed they would take more international holidays in 2013 compared to their foreign vacations last year but mid-year, the sentiment sees a 7% dip with 29% respondents now thinking they will end up taking more international holidays this year compared to 2012. However, a healthy 62% still claim they will undertake international travel this year.

The survey also reveals a resilient response to the plummeting value of the Rupee, with 36% respondents saying their international holiday plans stand unchanged and 16% picking a more economical foreign destination for their vacation than initially planned. Only 10% respondents said they cancelled their foreign holiday for this year altogether.

Budget woes inflate holiday spend without deflating holiday plans

Inflation, falling Rupee value and high airfares seem to be primary among factors impacting holiday budgets, but resilient travellers are choosing to revise and not refrain from holiday plans.

Even with more travellers estimating their holiday spend to increase over last year, 75% of those surveyed are modifying holiday plans though not abandoning them.

Rough skies for travellers on airfares

Airfares are clearly an area of concern as even at the beginning of 2013, 46% saw it as a major cause of driving the holiday budget up this year. Mid-year as well, it is the second biggest holiday budget concern.

This insight is further strengthened as we explore traveller’s recent perception of airfares in the survey. 48% respondents believe airfares to popular tourist destinations have been consistently higher this year compared to last year. Recent flight sales/deals and discounted fares have also not managed to reverse this perception completely as 37% believe the Air ticket sales/deals do not offer lucrative discounts to popular or relevant destinations compared to only 21% who said that recent airline deals/discounts have made flying cheaper.

Fear factor: Uttarakhand

While some travellers do stand in support and plan to visit the state soon, quite a few remain fearful in the aftermath.

The floods calamity may have spelt disaster for Uttarakhand tourism but with plenty of alternatives within the country for those seeking cooler climes, travellers seem to have moved their holidays to other hill destinations, according to the survey.

Other travel snippets

• The destinations most visited during the first 6 months saw Goa emerging at the top followed by Shimla and Kerala. Some destinations popular on the travel map  for the next 6 months include  Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Leh & Ladakh, Rajasthan, Coorg and Puducherry.
• Thailand, Singapore, Dubai, Bangkok and Malaysia remain favourites as most frequented international holiday spots for Indian travellers till July this year, as well as top destinations on the holiday wishlist for the rest of the year.
• More people seem to be keen to take off for a short trip this August compared to last year. 43% respondents confirmed they planned to take off during the long weekends in August this year for a short break, with Independence Day weekend being the most popular time to head out. Last year, 35% respondents took advantage of the long weekends during the month

On home ground

Results of the holiday forecast at the beginning of the year showed 44% respondents were planning to take between 1-2 domestic holidays and 43% were planning to take between 3-5 domestic holidays through 2013. The survey shows no significant departure from these estimates with 41% respondents saying they still plan to take 1-2 domestic vacations and 44% looking at 3-5 domestic holidays over this year.

67% respondents claimed to have taken between 1-2 domestic breaks whereas 18% took 3 or more domestic holidays between Jan-July this year. These numbers are almost identical to the figures from last year’s survey where 66% respondents said they took 1-2 domestic holidays and 19% took more than 3 holidays for the same period in 2012.

Foreign holidays: Down but not out

–          38% respondents claimed they took a foreign holiday between Jan-July this year compared to 42% who had taken at least one foreign holiday for the same period last year, showing a minor decline of 4%. In our holiday forecast survey in January this year,

–          While 62% still claim they will undertake international travel this year, the real picture remains to be unearthed at the end of the year. Last year’s survey also saw an optimistic 65% who estimated they will go on at least 1 international holiday in 2012; however at the end of the year only 50% confirmed taking a foreign vacation.

Budget Woes

50% respondents had estimated in a survey at the beginning of the year that they would spend more on their 2013 holidays compared to 2012.  Estimates show that now, 66% think they will spend more this year compared to last year.

75% respondents are modifying their holiday plans in some ways to accommodate personal budgets

Some factors ranked high on the survey as being responsible for the increase in holiday spends are :

o   Fall in the value of the rupee making foreign holidays more expensive – 56%

o   Significantly higher air fares – 54%

o   Higher costs of eating out on holiday – 47%

Fear factor: Uttarakhand

From among those who said their Uttarakhand holiday was impacted, only 20% travellers still plan to take their holiday in the state later in the year. 41% have moved their holiday plans to hill station domestic destinations like Himachal Pradesh and J&K and 6% even plan to travel overseas instead.

While 36% plan to travel to Uttarakhand within the next one year to support tourism in the calamity-ravaged state, 27% are still apprehensive and say they will avoid travelling to Uttarakhand in the near future