Over 50 per cent of Indians are using cards — credit, debit and prepaid — as their primary payment instrument on foreign travels, even as a large number of tourists also carry foreign currency as a fall back option, a travel report by NiYO revealed.
Over 50 per cent of Indians are using cards as their primary payment instrument on foreign travels
Over 50 per cent of Indians are using cards — credit, debit and prepaid — as their primary payment instrument on foreign travels, even as a large number of tourists also carry foreign currency as a fall back option, a travel report by NiYO revealed.
The US, Canada and Europe account for the highest digital transactions (higher card payments). The US dollar, Euro, UAE Dirham, British Pound and Singapore Dollar are the top five international currencies — contributing to 61 per cent of all spends by Indians.
“With increasing disposable income, expenditures by Indian foreign travellers are expected to grow up to $136 billion (Rs 9.5 lakh crore) by 2021. Online bookings are likely to grow by $24 billion during the same period. This will create immense business opportunity for digital banking players such as NiYO, which is making international spends safer and more convenient for outbound Indian tourists,” said Vinay Bagri, co-founder and CEO, NiYO.
The average spend per trip is also higher among frequent flyers, indicating a significant growth in the business travel segment and higher socio-economic profile.
These were some of the findings of a survey on ‘Cross-border Travel Insights for India’ conducted by neo-banking enterprise NiYO for to World Tourism Day on September 27. The report is based on insights from 25,000 respondents who used the NiYO global card on their foreign trips in the last one year. These majorly include business, leisure and student travellers belonging to Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Chennai, Kolkata, Pune and Hyderabad.
In other findings, there has been a significant increase in international travel during peak holiday seasons (May-June) and Christmas Eve (December), with the number of overseas trips going up by as much as 25-30 per cent. The survey also revealed that Indian outbound tourists spent maximum on shopping — duty-free goods, electronics and jewellery.