The Covid-induced lockdowns have been a dampener to tourists and travelers for close to two years. The yearning for packing a suitcase and leaving for a trip – big or small – have increased dramatically during this time. Travelling has come to be seen as much as therapy as relaxation as more people than ever feel eager to go out to more frequently to seek change from routine life. We decided to peek into the vacationing minds of consumers and made some interesting discoveries that we are ready to share.
We spoke to more than five hundred couples across the country and segmented them into three categories based on their age, income and vacationing frequency. These respondents were then segmented further based on their vacationing habits and media usage. Our survey reveals that a significant number of people take weekend trips to nearby locations to refresh their minds after a few weeks’ toil. To them ideal holidaying is about peace and comfort, relaxation and freedom, rejuvenation and excitement, and also, about the joy of discovering new places and indulging in sports and entertainment. We identified trends in travel mindset and created an interesting segmentation:
- Romantic – The young couples that seek peace and romance in their vacations, hence choose nature-based locations that also offer engaging activities that could be enjoyed with the partner, luxurious accommodation preferably with amenities like swimming pool and spa
- Older couples with kids that prioritise their kids’ needs more, hence choose activity-based locations and accommodations that are safe, have gaming areas and offer good and wide-variety food
- Couples taking parents out on vacations, hence choose locations close to religious hangouts, comfortable and safe accommodations and good-quality food
- Friends’ groups whose chief target is entertainment and a lot of activity, hence choose locations offering sightseeing options, adventure sports, pubs and bars
- New experience-seekers travelling solo or with friends who want to discover new places and explore them, hence choose off-beat or adventurous locations, and functional accommodation
- Family-bonding seekers, whose primary aim is to spend quality time with family and reconnect with family, hence look out for a relaxing stay with lesser activity
On being asked how they would rate their entertainment needs from a trip, respondents indicated the following, where sports and sightseeing find almost equal preference, to be followed closely by food options. Freak
Asking about how they choose their weekend getaways, we gather that other than budget the most important considerations are pleasant weather, good food, good accommodation and easy transportation. For longer vacations, additional considerations of nearby tourist locations and amenities at the accommodation come into play. As per our survey, 19% consumers travel once every month whereas 23% travel at least once at least six months. However, majority travel either once in every 3 months or once a year – together, this group makes up around 60% of consumers. International travel is much less frequent, with only 30% respondents taking such vacations with no fixed schedule.
Most people are willing to pay a generous amount of money on their vacations if their needs are met. Yet, the budget is mostly fixed prior to fixing the location, especially by frequent travellers so that there is provision for future trips on a frequent basis.