Internet, nightlife, nudity: Indian tourists’ new beach itinerary

MUMBAI: Indian tourists don’t switch off their smart phones even while unwinding at a beach, according to a global survey of 12,000 young travellers on beach vacation habits. While one-fourth of the respondents said they needed an internet connection to check office emails, four out of 10 respondents said a Wi-Fi connection was necessary to post pictures on online photo-sharing apps such as Instagram and Snapchat. Sharing photos seemed the most obvious thing to do on beach vacations as Indian travelers made sure they looked their best, with 43% respondents visiting a spa before going on the holiday. Another 40% got their hair done up before the vacation, said the report.

The annual ‘Flip Flop’ survey released by travel portal Expedia polled young travellers aged between 18 and 25 across 24 countries. Northstar, a globally integrated strategic insights consulting firm, conducted the online poll in April on behalf of Expedia.

Sampling quotas and weighting were used to ensure that the sample is representative of each country’s population in terms of age and gender. Assuming a probability sample, the margin of error would be +/-0.93 percentage points, the report said.

While majority of Indian tourists pick beach holidays based on travel time from home (45%) and availability of kid-friendly resorts (48%), a significant number of respondents said that they chose beaches with a night life (39%), those which permitted nude tourists (24%) and the ones attracting single travellers (26%).

“The Flip-Flop survey has given us some interesting facts about Indians and their preferences for a beach vacation. According to the survey, India (81%) stands second in taking a beach vacation after Thailand (82%) followed by Italy (79%) in 2015,” said Manmeet Ahluwalia, marketing head, Expedia (India).