RISHIKESH,30.11.17-A recent survey conducted by the pioneers of Bungee Jumping in India - Jumpin Heights - which is based out of Rishikesh,  on the people visiting their facilities throws some interesting insights. The survey was aimed at knowing the factors influencing travel decision of people in north Indian cities and the importance of adventure quotient in choosing a particular destination.

The Survey was conducted on 4351 respondents (2726 males and 1625 females) in the age group of 25 to 35 years hailing from major cities of north India.

The major highlights of the survey are as follows:

-      Adventure overwhelmingly remains the biggest reason for going out for travel.

-      The country offers enough avenues and destinations for people interested in adventure and there is hardly any need to look beyond domestic destination although there are some seekers of international adventure as well.

-      Cost of the trip along with comfort and fun factor are the major factors which are used to decide where people head for a travel.

-      Adventure acts as a major lure for deciding the destination of travel.

-      Cities of Punjab, along with Delhi/NCR, are major catchment areas in north India for companies offering adventure sports and related activities.

 The Questions asked in the survey and the responses are as follows:

Question 1: What is your major reason for going out for a travel?

Responses- Tourism (23%) Pilgrimage (10%), Adventure (40%), All the three (27%)

Explanation: Adventure has emerged as the biggest pull for travel in the age group of 25 to 35 years apart from 3 in 1 objective of Tourism, Adventure and Pilgrimage which is the next major pull.  Pilgrimage alone comes at a distant third number.

Question 2: For Adventure where would you like to visit?

Responses- Inside the country (73%), Abroad (27%)

Explanation- Vast majority of the respondents feel that our country offers enough avenues for adventure and there are enough facilities to cater to the adventure craving of the people in the age group of 25 to 35.  Less than a third felt that if you want to get the real feel of adventure and sports related to it, you ought to head out of the country.

Question 3: What are the biggest criteria to decide where you go as a traveller?

Responses- Cost of trip (44%), Accessibility (21%), Time of travel (10%), comfort and Fun Factor (25%)

Explanation- Cost of the trip still remains the biggest factor that plays a crucial role in deciding where the respondents will head as a traveller. Apart from cost the other factors that matter are comfort and fun that a particular destination offers. Time of travel is one of the factors that affect the choice of destination but it is not as important as cost and accessibility.

Question 4: How big is the pull of adventure while deciding a destination?

Responses- Significant (66%) Not much (34%)

Explanation- For the travellers in the age group of 25 to 35 years adventure acts as a major lure for about two thirds of the respondents and another one third felt that the adventure quotient of the destination does not matter.

Major cities from where maximum people are heading towards Himalayan foothills 
Responses- Chandigarh (20%), Ludhiana (17%), Jalandhar (16%), Amritsar (09%), Shimla ( 11%), Jammu (9%) Rohtak ( 3%) Delhi( NCR) – (15%)Explanation- Major cities of Punjab Like Ludhiana, Jalandhar, Chandigarh and Amritsar contribute more than three fourth of the total respondents of the survey that underscores the importance of Punjab as a market for the adventure sports facilities based out of Himalayan Foothills. Major Cities from other states contribute but their contribution and its percentage remains in single digit and far behind the cities of Punjab.

Commenting on the survey and its outcome Mr. Rahul Nigam, Managing Director, Jumpin Heights, says “Our own experience of running Jumpin Heights for more than a decade shows that adventure is the keyword if you want to attract the young traveller from North India. Also Punjab being a state with a lot of prosperous people is a major market which no serious adventure activities related company can afford to lose sight of. I am happy that people don’t feel the need to go abroad for adventure as we provide facilities of international level here itself.”

The trend from the survey is clear that to attract youngsters adventure factor, its accessibility and the cost involved are the most important factors for any destination or service provider. One has to keep important markets as Punjab in mind to tap for adventure seekers as numbers show they dominate the north Indian market.