More Indians are now travelling for leisure

Mumbai: Indian travellers are breaking away from the traditional routines, which was earlier limited only to visit friends, family, or pilgrimages and are now travelling more for leisure, a study has revealed.

The average Indian is now unabashedly a holiday enthusiast and the frequency of holidays have also gone up drastically with over 80 per cent of respondents having admitted to having indulged in at least four holidays in a year, according to a study by a market research and analysis company.

The results of the pan-India study included a sample size of 2,103 and covered metro cities including Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, Kolkata, Hyderabad, and Chennai.

"With the advent of technology the average Indian has never had it better. They are discovering that air travel and holiday destinations are, in fact, within reach and not a faraway dream as once imagined. Indulging in offbeat travel plans, planning holidays with a twist, and international travel are popular these days," Velocity MR managing director and CEO Jasal Shah said.

Till a couple of years ago, festival celebrations were limited to family homes. Today entire families travel together for the celebration and enjoy the festival and a vacation both at the same time, he said.

"Mobile apps have expanded individual research capabilities and help people make well thought out plans based on online reviews and user feedback," he added.

Further, the study revealed that holidays are no longer special times that people have to wait months for.

Weekend getaway as well as well-planned vacations are on the rise, the study has found.

It also said that more than 60 per cent of respondents used ticketing mobile apps for hotel bookings.

Payment, hotel booking, and ticketing, social networking, and navigation were the most sought-after apps, it added.