Solo women travellers prefer overseas travel than within India

Ahmedabad and Pune safest cities; Delhi tops the unsafe city list

Women travelers in India, both travelling solo or as part of all women’s group, prefer to travel overseas than within India due to safety concerns, said a survey.

Ahmedabad (86 per cent) has emerged as the safest city for women travelers in India, followed by Pune (84 per cent) and Bangalore (81 per cent). Mumbai, whereas, dropped to the fifth spot this year after leading the charts in 2013, said a survey by TripAdvisor.

The survey also found that only 16 per cent of women make use of safety applications available.

The Annual WomenTravel Survey 2014, now in its second year was conducted with a base of 1,068 participants, found that of the 63 per cent respondents who have never travelled alone, 33 per cent felt that it was unsafe for a woman to travel alone in India. And 53 per cent respondents said they travel alone only to destinations (India or abroad) that are perceived as ‘safe’.

“An encouraging proportion of women in India have started to travel by themselves, or in all-women groups. What is discomforting is their preference for overseas destinations as opposed to India, from a safety perspective. It is imperative that this perception of India changes soon, to encourage more women travellers to get out there and experience the country,” said Nikhil Ganju, Country Manager, TripAdvisor India.

Despite safety being a prime concern, over 51 per cent respondents were not aware that hotels in India and abroad have floors exclusively for women. Yet given a choice over 72 per cent women would like to stay at such hotels while travelling solo or in an all women group.