59% Indian women on holiday prefer food to shopping, says survey

59% Indian women on holiday prefer food to shopping, says survey

Next time you want to pamper her, do it with cheese fondue, not a shopping spree. Women travelers in India have let out a collective cheer for food over shopping while on a holiday, reveals a recent survey by leading travel portal Skyscanner. The survey highlights that 59 per cent of the women surveyed preferred spending more on food as compared to sight-seeing and adventure sports (18 per cent), or even shopping (35 per cent). The ‘Food and Spending’ survey discloses the habits of Indians on the go. Not only do they choose to travel to off-beat locations for un-conventional adventure sports, they also experiment with food and are keen to explore the local culture of their holiday destination. “Skyscanner’s search engine, designed to show the best prices for most number of travel options available to Indian travellers, is the perfect tool to guide adventurous Indians as they plan, book and explore their travel hot-spot,” said Kavitha Gnanamurthy, senior marketing manager, Skyscanner India. Indians, known for their love for food ensure that they carry their favourite namkeen when holidaying oversees. The survey reveals that even though matthi and khakra top the charts in the packed snacks category, Indians love exploring the local food at their holiday spot. While 42 per cent of Indian travellers spend money on food as opposed to other activities, a mere 38 per cent watch their diet. “So be it the passion for food or the love for food photographs on Instagram, food is the new travel companion for all!” says the report. The survey goes on to add that with only 24 per cent travellers making cash payments and a mere 9 per cent using ATMs in foreign countries, use of plastic money is the most popular mode of monetary transactions while travelling overseas. Though a small number (8 per cent), but travellers’ cheque as a mode of payment is fast gaining popularity amongst Indians. When it comes to currency conversion, the survey noted that 53 per cent of travellers prefer converting currencies at banks vis-à-vis airport arrivals (23 per cent) and departure airports (17 per cent). The survey also reveals that only 8 per cent of Indian travellers invest the balance currency, 37 per cent encash it, 28 per cent restore it for their next travel and 22 per cent choose to spend the remains at duty free.