#BritishAirways Travel Habit Survey – David Beckham, 007 and Paris top the charts for Indian travellers

David Beckham, 007 and Paris top the charts for Indian travellers

British Airways’ Travel Habits Survey reveals that family is key

NEW DELHI, 28 JUNE 2016 – British Airways reveals it’s first-ever “Travel Habit Survey” for the travellers from India. In February to March 2016, British Airways conducted the research across selected countries in Asia Pacific and asked over 500 Indian participants about their travel habits.

The online survey reveals that iconic English footballer, David Beckham, is travellers from India’s first choice of British celebrity for a flying companion (32 per cent). In fact, David Beckham has also topped the lists in China, Hong Kong, Japan and Korea. Other popular flying companion choices among travellers from India included Harry Potter actress and model, Emma Watson (29 per cent), who is also the favourite flying companion choice in Japan, Korea and Singapore whereas James Bond actor, Daniel Craig, came in third with 24 per cent.

Twenty-four per cent of Indian travellers picked Paris, France as the top dream destination in Europe followed closely by 20 per cent choosing London in the UK. Paris also tops the dreams destinations list for travellers from China, Hong Kong Japan, Korea and Singapore.

Interestingly, nearly half (48 per cent) of the Indian participants were inspired to visit the UK following popular British movie James Bond, 42 per cent and 34 per cent of the respondents said they find their travel inspiration from Harry Potter and Sherlock Holmes respectively. Travellers from China, Japan, South Korea and Singapore also voted Harry Potter is ‘the’ British movies that would inspire them to travel to the UK.

Compared with the other countries, India were the most family focused. Sixty-four percent of Indians feel that the availability of family fun activities are the most important factor when choosing a holiday destination. Travellers from India also said that they will choose destinations based on historical landmarks and if the destinations come with great shopping choices.

When asked about their airport shopping preferences, most Indians said that they liked to buy food and drink items when they are travelling (27 per cent). While designer clothes and jewellery are close second for women (9 per cent and 10 per cent respectively), male travellers said that they liked buying perfumes or colognes (15 per cent) from the airport stores.

Moran Birger, British Airways’ regional general manager, South Asia said, “The survey has revealed some very interesting insights about India’s leisure and business travellers. At British Airways, it is our constant endeavour to give our customers the best possible experience with us. The findings from the survey will help us to focus on making flying even better for our customers from India.”

Results from the survey also showed:
· Over half of the participant give high priority to the availability of restaurants and cafes when picking a new destination to visit.
· 41 per cent picked Oxford Street as the top shopping destination in London.
· 30 per cent of respondents look for designer outlet malls for discounted luxury goods.

– Ends –

Notes to Editors
All figures, unless otherwise stated, are from YouGov Plc. Total sample size was 501 Indian adults. Fieldwork was undertaken between 25 February and 9 March 2016. The survey was carried out online. The figures have been weighted and are representative of the urban population of adults in India (aged 18+).

About British Airways
British Airways’ route network currently serves more than 200 cities in 75 countries. British Airways has been flying to India for over 90 years and currently operates 49 flights a week from London Heathrow to five cities – New Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Bengaluru and Hyderabad. From 25 October 2015, customers from Delhi became the first at British Airways globally to experience the most technologically advanced Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner and the new First cabin.

The airline operates from the state-of-the-art Terminal 5 at London Heathrow, which is exclusive to British Airways’ and Iberia Airlines’ customers and is capable of handling 30 million customers a year. In March 2016, Terminal 5 was named by Skytrax as the Best Airport Terminal for the fifth year running. London Heathrow also won the Best Airport Shopping award.

In September 2015, World Traveller Plus, the premium economy cabin available on selected long haul routes, was awarded the Best Premium Economy by Business Traveller Asia-Pacific. In October 2015, British Airways and its frequent flyer programme, Executive Club, was awarded the Best Short-Haul Carrier and the Best Frequent Flyer Programme by Business Traveller for the 10th consecutive year. The oneworld alliance, of which British Airways was a founding airline, came in first in the Best Airline Alliance category for the third year running.

In February 2016, British Airways won the Consumer Superbrand for the third time in a row, and the Business Superbrand for the second year in a row at the Superbrands 2016 Awards. This is the first time that any company has won both prestigious titles in two consecutive years.

For more information, please visit ba.com.