Mumbai : An independent poll of 6,000 travellers in the APAC region revealed that Indians preferred to stay connected with friends and family, with 42% of the travellers logging more into social networks whilst on holiday as compared to when at home.  The survey undertaken in March by leading global travel search site Skyscanner goes further to reveal that out of the 1000 Indian travellers surveyed, 28% logged in more than once a day and a quarter of the  travellers admitted to logging in, updating their statuses and checking their news feeds every couple of hours.

In fact, staying connected is of paramount importance to Indian travellers so much so that out of the 1000 travellers surveyed, only 1% found it unnecessary to contact anyone at home whilst on holiday. Social media networks emerged as the popular choice for sharing one’s holiday experiences with friends and family back home with 74% of the travellers opting for Facebook and 50% preferring Skype to communicate with others about their trip while on holiday. Even the traditional phone call seemed to win favour amongst Indian travellers with 72% of people opting to use this means of communication to update friends and family about their trip.

The travel research survey which included participants from Australia, New Zealand, India, Indonesia, Korea, Philippines and Singapore presented interesting findings. One such interesting trend revealed was that Indians along with South East Asian countries such as Singapore, Indonesia and the Philippines turned to friends for personal recommendations when it came to choosing their holiday destinations.  This was in sharp contrast to the APAC countries of Australia and New Zealand where over one eighth of travellers relied on travel company websites for holiday inspiration.

Kavitha Gnanamurthy, Skyscanner’s Market Development Manager for India, said: “The survey helps showcase an interesting fact which is whilst Indians value their relaxation time on holidays, they don’t necessarily see disconnecting from family and friends as a way of taking a break from their mundane lives.  They enjoy being in constant touch with their loved ones with social media networks emerging as the most popular means of communicating with friends and family back home.”