Indians workout, do up hair to get beach-ready: Survey

Indians love to take vacations on a beach according to a new survey , which pegs a majority of local travellers are likely to head for the beach this year.

Results of the 2013 Flip Flop Report, an analysis of behaviour and preferences among beach goers in Asia, North America, South America, Europe and Australia by Expedia.com, an online travel agency reveals the preference for beaches among Indians.

"The highest likelihood for beach vacations over the next year comes from Indians at 95 per cent closely followed by South Koreans at 92 per cent," the survey released today reveals.

The study was conducted online by Harris Interactive on behalf of Expedia.com from  April 19 to May 15, 2013 among 8,606 adults.

40 per cent of Indians start working out before heading for a beach vacation, with this trend being led by Brazil with 48% and Mexico and South Korea with 44 per cent each. Indians are most conscious about their hairdo, with 37 per cent of Indians getting their hair done before their beach vacation, followed by Brazilians (32 per cent).

"Indian beach vacationers most conscious about their 'looks' at beach  with 26 per cent travellers even postponing their vacations to get in shape," the study says.

Another finding of the study is that 27 per cent of Indians go for tanning before vacations. Norway leads this trend, with 37 per cent of people doing so before vacations. Indians are the top spa lovers, with 30 per cent of them going for treatments before heading to their beach vacation.

Indians are most conscious about their shape; 26 per cent of Indians have postponed their vacation just to get more time to get in shape before their vacation. Malaysians follow their lead, with 23 per cent postponing their vacation for this reason.

While the preferred season for Indian beach vacationers is summer at 55 per cent, they rank 3rd globally in taking vacations during winters at 30 per cent, preceded by Mexico at 41 per cent and Canada at 33 per cent.

At 35 per cent, Indians rank 5th globally among people who most likely have cancelled or changed their destination because the beach wasn't clean enough.

And while at the beach Indians love to have fun. The top five activities that Indians indulge in at the beach include walking at 85 per cent,    swimming (67 per cent), running or jogging (65 per cent), people-watching (62 per cent) and sunbathing at 53 per cent.
The survey highlights the maturation of Indian travelers, as they prefer to do their own research, consult reviews, blogs and social media while planning their vacation.

"... Indians globally ranked first in consulting traveler reviews (62 per cent), travel guidebooks (58 per cent), travel magazines/TV shows (54 per cent) and 2nd in consulting social media (42per cent), news stories (42 per cent) and travel blogs (47 per cent). In fact, nearly nine in ten (89 per cent) of vacationers who traveled or  plan to travel internationally felt that it was important to learn the local culture and history of their international beach vacation destinations. Keeping this evolution in mind, we launched verified customer reviews last year, to enable the Indian traveler make an informed decision," said Vikram Malhi, General Manager, South and South East Asia, Expedia.

Travel to international beaches for vacations went up to 56 per cent this year from 43 per cent in 2012. 70 per cent of Indians said they are likely to take International beach vacations while Delhiites are most keen on international beach vacations trips (81 per cent). Mumbaiikars are likely to favour more of domestic beach vacations (58 per cent international).

The top three activities for Indians at the destination besides the beach activities include shopping (76 per cent), enjoying local cuisine (70 per cent) and visiting nearby historical places (68 per cent).

18 per cent of those Indians surveyed say intimacy with strangers is how they typically indulge themselves on beach vacations. The trend is led by Singapore with 20% of people indulging in the same, the study states.

The biggest worry for Indians on a beach vacation is having their wallets or possessions stolen, at 32 per cent. 34 per cent of South Indians and 29 per cent of Delhiites worry about this.