Indian Travellers 2023: Personal wellness, luxury experiences high on agenda

New Delhi — Indians are prioritizing travel plans focusing on personal wellness and splurging on luxury experiences over conventional luxury goods this year, according to the American Express Travel 2023 Global Travel Trends Report.

“Indians are planning to travel for gaining new experiences, learning about a city and its culture, breaking away from monotony and trying new food or cuisine. New trends like solo and bleisure travel is also picking up amongst Indian travellers,” says American Express Banking Corp India CEO Sanjay Khanna. “With the ongoing demand for travelling, we are backing our Cardmembers with compelling offers and benefits, helping them get better value for their trips and creating joyful memories.”

As per the report that is based on survey data from travellers across the United States, Australia, Canada, Mexico, Japan, India, and the United Kingdom, 90% of surveyed Indians are prioritizing travel plans focusing on personal wellness with 87% planning on spending more money on luxury experiences than conventional luxury goods this year.

Trends Inspiring Travel Decisions of Indians. (Source: American Express)

The online survey was conducted from February 3rd to February 11th, 2023 and comprised a sample of 1,000 travellers from Australia, Canada, India, Japan, Mexico, UK, and 2,000 travellers from the US who usually fly at least once a year and have a household income of $70,000 or more.

The Rise of “Set-jetting”

Pop culture and social media are influencing the rise of “set-jetting”. The top sources of travel inspiration for surveyed Indians include Instagram (63%), Facebook (63%), online blogs (49%) and TV shows (49%). 48per cent of Indian respondents agreed that they have been inspired to travel this year by a recent TV show/movie, with Game of Thrones and Emily in Paris topping the list. 95 per cent of the surveyed Indian GenZers agree that they are inspired to visit specific travel destinations after seeing them featured on TV shows, news sources or movies.

Delicious Destination

Highest amongst all the surveyed countries, 86 per cent of Indian respondents shared that they typically book travel destinations based on popular restaurants located there. Participating in the local restaurant scene and food festivals are top experiences they are looking forward to during their upcoming travels. When it comes to food inspiration, more than 98 per cent of the surveyed Indians agree that they are open to venturing out of their comfort zone and trying new foods while travelling.

Travelling Off the beaten path

98% of surveyed Indians want to travel to a place they have never been before. They are seeking hidden gems as 94 per cent of them agree that they want to explore lesser-known destinations and 95% agree that they want to travel to a destination that is off–the–beaten path.

More concerned about environment and locals

97 per cent of the Indian traveller surveys said they were interested in going on a vacation that supports local communities in 2023. 94 per cent of them said that they are more mindful of the environmental impact of their travel decisions compared to a year ago.