HYDERABAD :We always knew that Hyderbadis make great friends. Now it’s official. A survey by online travel agency Cleartrip shows that the city that eats together also travel together. We have a distinct group behaviour when compared to other cities. Says Anand Kandadai, Executive Vice President, Cleartrip, “As part of our work, we keenly studied the group behaviour of consumers who are booking with us. While travellers in other places such as Goa, Kerala and Himachal recorded 2.5 people per booking, Hyderabad recorded an astouding 4.5 people per booking. Clearly, you guys love your friends and families more than others.”
Interestingly, Hyderabadis are also super impulsive with their travel plans.
True Late Lateefs, they never dare to make a plan even two days before. “Oh yes, we did notice about 85 percent of bookings from Hyderabad are ‘0 and 1’. It means folks from this city book the same day or next day, but rarely in advance.” Not surprisingly, we book on weekends between 6 pm to 9 pm, to start either late night the same day or the next day. Anand elaborates on how 26 per cent of their consumers do something locally in their city before booking flight tickets to explore more in other cities.
Talking to Hyderabad Express on the phone, he says that youngsters are no longer content doing just the touristy things of ticking off six or eight sightseeing spots and going back home. Instead, they want to experience the city and its life in their own style. While the foodies may want to take a long walk to do a food trail, experiencing the best of street food a city offers, a book lover may want skip the regular monument darshan and drop by at the little lanes selling secondhand books. Trails – heritage, botanical, food and book trails are among the top travel trends this season. “This Ramzan season, we’ve noticed more queries and bookings on the food trail as the city goes berserk with its food,” he adds.
Other travel trends
Hyderabad is the one of the top 10 destinations for experiences in India
Booking percent for Local activities in Hyderabad Theme parks and entrances are the most popular category in Hyderabad accounting for 67% of all bookings Adventure options vs Amusement parksDay outings are the next major category making up for 28% of the bookings. Adventure is a smaller category with 3 % of the bookings Age-group wise engagementWe see a younger audience for experiences as compared to travel bookings with 18-22 being the major age group There are multiple experiential activities available around Hyderabad and people are looking forward to book these.
kalanidhi @newindianexpress.com @mkalanidhi