The report says that leading spending categories for travellers include retail goods, restaurants and apparel and accessories took the lead
The top five destinations for Indian outbound travellers over the past year were the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Thailand, Singapore, Indonesia with Vietnam being the most off-beat and popular destination. Simultaneously, Indian students pursuing their education abroad favoured the United States, Great Britain, Canada, Australia, and Germany as their top choices.
These are some of the key findings of the Niyo Global Travel Report 2023 published by Indian travel-banking fintech firm Niyo, released on occasion of World Tourism Day on September 27.
In a press statement, Niyo says that between June 2022 and July 2023, its outbound travel customers saved INR 840 million in foreign exchange charges, by using Niyo Global card that can be used in over 147 countries.
Vinay Bagri
“1.5 million people own the Niyo Global card and over one million of them are active at all times. Helping international travellers and students save on forex has been our most predominant endeavour and nothing makes us happier than seeing our customers get their real value for money on their international travels. We’re seeing some very interesting trends in travel when it comes to destinations and experiences. Hence, we keep evolving the product and offer newer things like our latest feature to get free airport lounge access across the globe,” says Vinay Bagri, Co-founder and CEO, Niyo.
In the statement, Niyo adds that 78 pc of its global customers enjoy free airport lounge access and Indian travellers saved on an average INR 5,000 for every INR 100,000 spent. It adds that 56 pc of Niyo Global customers opted for both Niyo Global credit and debit cards for international travel, and amongst them, 72 pc of them preferred the debit card for transactions and ATM withdrawals.
The report says that leading spending categories for travellers include retail goods, restaurants and apparel and accessories took the lead, while students primarily allocated their funds to professional services like visa, administrative charges, entrance exams fee, food and grocery, and accommodation. Summer and holiday seasons were identified as peak season for travel.
Sai Sankar
“As per industry reports, last year, Indians made 10 million foreign trips for leisure and over USD 30 billion was spent on overseas education by students. Outbound travel by Indians will continue to be on a constant upswing with estimates of over USD 42 billion per year on international travel and USD 80 billion by 2024 for students. This indicates that saving on forex will be imperative now more than ever and we’re certain that Niyo Global will continue to be their preferred choice. To cater to the growing needs of Indians for their international travels, we’re constantly expanding our features suite and are excited to offer innovative, all-encompassing travel banking solutions,” says Sai Sankar, Chief of Business, Global Banking, Niyo.
Niyo says in compiling this study, it analysed data of travellers representing a demographic breakdown of 62 pc male and 38 pc female customers, with a majority identifying itself as salaried, followed by students and self-employed individuals. Furthermore, the report revealed that 59 pc of travellers embarked on their journeys for leisure, 24 pc for educational pursuits and 17 pc for business purposes.
