46% Indians plan to travel in October-December festive season, far more than in monsoon: Survey

LocalCircles survey finds so far only 6% of those who have plans have made their bookings, and the others could look for last-minute deals or undertake road travel.

Tourists gathered at The Ridge, Shimla, in July 2021 | Representational image | ANI

New Delhi: Around half of all Indians are likely to travel during the upcoming festive season between October and December, according to a survey conducted by LocalCircles, a community social media platform.

This number would represent a 60 per cent rise compared to numbers that travelled in the monsoon season.

Asked about their travel plans between October and December, 38 per cent of respondents said they “have no plans to travel during these three months”, while 16 per cent said they were undecided.

The positive responses included 22 per cent saying they “have plans to travel during these 3 months but have not booked tickets and stay yet”; 18 per cent saying they “have plans to travel during these 3 months but have not booked tickets and stay yet and will only decide close to travel date”; and the other 6 per cent saying they “have plans and have booked tickets”. This means that a big majority of those who plan to travel could be looking for last-minute deals, or undertake road travel.

The survey received more than 19,000 responses from citizens residing in 331 districts of India, of which 64 per cent of respondents were men while 36 per cent were women. Around 44 per cent of respondents were from tier-1 cities, 27 per cent from tier-2 cities, and 29 per cent of respondents were from tier-3 and 4 cities and rural districts.

Jump from monsoons

The survey showed that with many festivals lined up in the coming months, the tourism industry is likely to see a 60 per cent jump in people travelling in the October-December period, compared to during the August-September monsoon season when only 28 per cent of people planned to travel.

Responding to a question about what kind of personal travel they plan to undertake, 14 per cent said “(1) holiday destination”, 22 per cent said “(2) visit family and friends” and 9 per cent said “(3) other travel”. Four per cent each picked options 1 & 2 and 2 & 3, while 6 per cent picked options 1 & 3. Four per cent picked all three options.

On an aggregate basis, the survey noted that 34 per cent of respondents plan to “visit family and friends”, 28 per cent will visit a “holiday destination”, and 23 per cent will undertake “other kinds of travel”.

(Edited by Neha Mahajan)