China tops preferred emerging country for Indian tourists: TripAdvisor

At a time when China and India are working closely on forging close ties between two nations, according to a recent study by travel website TripAdvisor, China is the number one emerging nation in 2014 when it came to Indians planning to travel abroad.

According to the study whose findings are based on the website traffic during the period January 1 to June 30, 2014 (or the first half of calendar year 2014), the number of Indians planning to travel abroad in 2014 has gone up by 21%.

The data reveals interesting findings in the 'Emerging Destinations' and 'Emerging Countries' categories with Ambergris Caye, Belize topping the list in the former category and China leading in the latter respectively.

The results show that Indians prefer travelling closer home with Asian cities dominating the 'Top 20 Destinations' and Asia being the 'Top Continent'. US takes number 1 spot in the 'Top Countries' category.

Key Findings:

# Dubai emerges #1 destination for Indians in 2014 as well as 2013

# United States of America emerges the favourite country in 2014

# China is the #1 Emerging Country for 2014

# Almost 50% of Indians prefer rooms in the price bracket of up to Rs 5000

# Almost 30% of Indians prefer other accommodation options such as B&B, vacation rentals etc. rather than hotels

# 'Outdoors' is the top choice in 'Attractions' category for outbound Indians

# Ambergris Caye, Belize is the #1 Emerging Destination for 2014 followed by Lankanfushi, Maldives at #2

# Indian food remains the favourite for away from home Indians

# Dubai emerged as the favourite destination and US the most preferred country amongst the people of Ahemdabad