Mumbai,
04
July
2019
|
15:31
Europe/Amsterdam

Booking.com reveals what Indians are most worried about when travelling

48% of travellers worry that when they arrive, the accommodation or transportation provider might not have received their booking

Booking.com, the global leader in connecting travellers with the widest choice of incredible places to stay, reveals what Indian travellers worry about the most when travelling. Environment, experience, expectations and food find their way among the top worries for Indian travellers.

Top worries of Indian travellers include:

  1. Safety first please - 36% of Indian travellers worry being in an environment that feels unsafe (global 43%)
  2. Return on investment is the key - 30% of travellers worry that the experience might not be worth the money (global 28%)
  3. Fasten them locks - Almost one third (28%) of Indian travellers worry about something being stolen when they are travelling (global 39%)
  4. Not all surprises are always good - The destination not living up to expectations is another fear shared by 24% of travellers from India (global 28%)
  5. Food is life - 23% of Indian travellers worry local food not meeting their dietary requirements/preferences (global 10%)
  6. Language Barrier - 21% of the Indians worry about not being able to communicate because of language barriers

When comparing the above listed top 6 worries of Indian travellers, what Indian travellers are least worried about include:

  • Getting lost - 15%
  • 16% worry about their travel companion(s) not liking the accommodation they’ve chosen
  • The journey itself - 17%

India vs. Global: When comparing worries of Indian travellers with travellers from other countries

  • Indians are most worried about their food preferences and dietary requirements not being met, while food less of a concern for travellers from 29 countries surveyed
  • After France (18%), India (16%) is the country where travellers worry most about their travel companion(s) not liking the accommodation they’ve chosen
  • India and UK share the highest worry for the journey itself among all the other markets at 17%
  • Korea (32%), France (22%), and India (21%) share the highest fear of missing out on great experiences because they do not know the best things to do
  • Italian (41%) and French (36%) traveller worry the most about not liking the accommodation they have chosen as against 21% Indian travellers

With an ever-increasing growth of smartphone penetration and internet access, 68% of Indian travellers opt to make bookings online via travel websites and apps. When booking online almost half of Indian travellers use both websites and apps, and India has one of the highest rates of travelers relying exclusively on apps (15%).

In line with the changing booking behaviour, the concerns that Indians rank most often as being amongst their top 4 online travel booking fears include:

  • Privacy - almost 53% of the Indian travellers list “personal details being stolen” as one of their top 4 fears while booking online (global 45%)
  • Authenticity - 53% Indians also worry about online photos of the accommodation being misleading (global 47%)
  • Accountability - 49% fear that there might not be anyone to hold accountable in case things do not go according to plan. (global 45%)
  • Credibility - 48% of Indian travellers also worry about the credibility of online reviews of accommodations, that might not be real, further leading to unrealistic expectations (global 42%)

Interestingly, 48% of travellers worry that when they arrive, the accommodation or transportation provider might not ever have received their booking and 46% Indians feel that because of the amount of choice in accommodation online, they might not pick the right place or get the best deal.

Worried about safety, food or missing out on experiences? You are not alone. Don’t let these travel worries dampen your next holiday as you leave them behind and make the most of your trip planned.

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Notes to Editor:

*Research commissioned by Booking.com and independently conducted among a sample of 21,500 respondents, across 29 different markets (including 1000 respondents from Australia, Brazil, China, Columbia, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, South Korea, Spain, the US, the UK, Russia, and 500 respondents from Argentina, Belgium, Canada, Croatia, Denmark, Hong Kong, Israel, Japan, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Singapore, Sweden, Taiwan, Thailand, In order to participate in this survey, respondents had to be 18 years of age or older, had to have travelled at least once in 2018, be planning at least one trip for 2018 and either the primary decision maker or involved in the decision making of their travel. The survey was taken online and took place in Q3 2018.

About Booking.com

Established in 1996 in Amsterdam, Booking.com B.V. has grown from a small Dutch start-up to one of the largest travel e-commerce companies in the world. Part of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: BKNG), Booking.com now employs more than 17,500 employees in 198 offices in 70 countries worldwide.

With a mission to empower people to experience the world, Booking.com invests in digital technology that helps take the friction out of travel. At Booking.com, we connect travelers with the world’s largest selection of incredible places to stay, including everything from apartments, vacation homes, and family-run B&Bs to 5-star luxury resorts, tree houses and even igloos. The Booking.com website and mobile apps are available in 43 languages, offer over 28 million total reported listings, including more than 5.9 million listings of homes, apartments and other unique places to stay, and covers more than 150,000 destinations in 227 countries and territories worldwide.

Each day, more than 1.5 million room nights are reserved on our platform. So whether traveling for business or leisure, customers can instantly book their ideal place to stay quickly and easily with Booking.com, without booking fees and backed up by our promise to price match. Via our customer experience team, customers can reach Booking.com 24/7 for assistance and support in over 43 languages, any time of the day or night.

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