An ever-increasing number of travellers are coming out of their comfort zones and opting for newer destinations to experience their hobbies or unexplored interests. However, interestingly the preference is still to explore these new destinations as friends and family groups and not as a solo traveller. These are just some of the trends and insights Travel Tours, the leisure travel brand of FCM Travel Solutions released in its first Outbound Travel Survey for 2019.

The survey’s release was timed to coincide with the start of the busy summer travel season, July and August. The survey was conducted with more than 1200 respondents within the age group of 25 to 65 years across eight key cities in India who had booked international travel recently on the platform.

“The survey has revealed that over 45% of Indians preferred family travel over solo travel.”

Commenting on the report, Rakshit Desai, managing director, FCM Travel Solutions said: “The Travel Tours Leisure Travel Survey 2019 gives insights into the travel preferences of the discerning Indian traveller. With the rise in disposable incomes, ease of access to new and upcoming holiday destinations and convenience in planning and booking holidays online, the number of Indians travelling abroad has multiplied exponentially.”

The survey has revealed that over 45% of Indians preferred family travel over solo travel. This group is further broken down with 71% opting to travel with their immediate family while the remaining choosing to include extended family and friends, he added. A top choice last year, beach holidays have this time round taken a backseat (34.8%) while adventure holidays came in second with a preference rating of 45%. Nearly 47% of the target group opted to travel in family groups for outbound travels making it the top placed travel option ahead of adventure travel.

The survey also found that Southeast Asia continued to be a preferred destination with the Indian outbound traveller with 35.3% having visited over the last six months and 30.7% intending to visit over the next six months. This was followed by the Middle East and South Asia. Interestingly, 72.9% of Indian travellers still prefer to save up before planning a holiday with only a small pool of respondents willing to take out travel loans.