Indians prefer toned look for a beach holiday: Survey

Almost half of Indians going on a beach holiday start working out to flaunt a toned body while about a quarter postpone their vacations to get in shape, revealed a survey report released Sunday.

The '2013 Flip Flop Report' was released by online travel portal Expedia.com after conducting a survey of behaviour and preferences among 8,500 beachgoers in 21 countries of Asia, north and south America and Europe as well as Australia during April-May.

According to the report, around 40 percent of Indians begin physical exercise before going on a beach holiday while 26 percent postpone their vacations to get in shape.

In addition to working out, 37 percent of Indians get a stylish hairdo and 27 percent go for tanning before a vacation.

"Indians are most conscious about their hairdo, followed by Brazilians at 32 percent," the survey said.

According to Vikram Malhi, general manager (south and southeast Asia), Expedia, the Indian traveller has evolved with respect to planning and booking behaviour as 62 percent of them consult reviews online before a vacation.

"Their reliance on third party reviews when choosing a holiday destination has increased. Globally, Indians are ranked number one in consulting traveller reviews, guidebooks, travel magazines, TV shows, social media and blogs," Malhi said.

The survey further said that 95 percent of Indian respondents were likely to go for a beach vacation over the next year as compared to 80 percent in 2012.

Meanwhile, more and more Indians are heading to international destinations for a beach vacation with a rise in their numbers from 43 percent in 2012 to 56 percent in 2013.

"At 81 percent, Delhiites are most keen on international beach vacations whereas only 58 percent of people from Mumbai favour international beaches," said the survey adding that beach vacation was important for 61 percent of Indian respondents.