Indians worry most on safety, food while travelling: Survey

Even as more and more Indians are travelling, a recent survey has revealed that they are most worried on their journey especially about the experience, safety and food.

The environment, experience, expectations and food are some of the top things that most Indian travellers worry about, according to a survey by the Netherlands headquartered travel e-commerce company Booking.com.

The survey was done among 21,500 respondents of over 18 years, across 29 markets, including 1,000 from Australia, Brazil, China, Columbia, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, South Korea, Spain, the US, the UK, Russia, and 500 each from Argentina, Belgium, Canada, Croatia, Denmark, Hong Kong, Israel, Japan, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Singapore, Sweden, Taiwan, Thailand, who had travelled at least once in 2018. According to the survey, 36 per cent Indians worry being in an environment that feels unsafe, compared to 43 per cent of global travelers.

It revealed that 30 per cent of Indians worry that the experience might not be worth the money they have spent compared to 28 per cent of global travellers.

Almost one third (28 per cent) of Indian travellers worry about something being stolen when they are travelling against a global average of 39 per cent.

Indians also worry (24 per cent) about the destination not living up to their expectations from the global average of 28 per cent.

Almost 23 per cent of Indian travellers worries that the local food will not meet their dietary requirements or preferences against a global average of 10 per cent.

Language is another aspect Indians worry (21 per cent) thinking about not being able to communicate. The survey also revealed that 17 per cent Indians worries about getting lost, while 16 per cent worries about their travel companions not liking the accommodation they have chosen and 17 per cent about the journey itself.

While, 41 per cent Italians and 36 per cent French travellers worry the most about not liking the accommodation they have chosen.

Further, it found that Korea (32 per cent), France (22 per cent) and India (21 per cent) shared the highest fear of missing out on great experiences because they do not know the best things to do.

It also revealed that with an increasing growth of smartphone penetration and internet access, 68 per cent of Indian travellers opt to make bookings online through travel websites and apps.

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