According to the latest Hotels.com Hotel Price Index (HPI) report, Europe which is considered to be a ‘backpacker’s paradise’ was the most preferred destination for Indians while travelling abroad in 2015. Reasonable and competitive air tickets to most of the capital cities in Europe amounting to less than a return ticket to metro cities within India certainly made Europe an attractive destination for Indian tourists in 2015.
Overall Europe was the most preferred international getaway for Indian travellers in 2015 providing an array of experiences that included amongst others, shopping in Paris, trekking and hiking in the Austrian Alps, culinary delights in Italy and hot air ballooning in Turkey. Backpackers and deal hunters rejoiced in Paris, Berlin, Brussels and Istanbul as the HPI reported double digit price decreases for these popular European destinations in 2015. Hotel Room prices saw decline as Indians paid 27 per cent less in Berlin at INR 6,873, 16% less in Paris at INR 10,993; 16 per cent less in Brussels at INR 8,595; 15 per cent less in Istanbul at INR 8,109 respectively.
When it comes to the United Kingdom, London the perennial favourite amongst Indian travellers saw a marginal increase in hotel room prices by one per cent at INR 14,823 per night followed by Milan that witnessed a staggering 19 per cent increase at INR 12,695 per night in 2015.
The United States of America that is considered to be the ‘land of opportunities’ for Indians witnessed a rise in hotel room prices in 2015 as compared to 2014. A number of prominent destinations in the country witnessed the rise on account of increased demand except the ‘Big Apple’ that saw a marginal drop of one per cent priced at INR 15,704 per night for a hotel room.
New York topped the list despite a marginal fall of one per cent in hotel room prices where Indian travellers paid the most in 2015 followed by San Francisco priced at INR 14,465 per night for a hotel room while choosing destinations to travel to in the United States of America. Meanwhile Boston ranked third followed by ‘Beach Destination’ Miami ranking fourth on the list priced at INR 13,423 and INR 13,086 respectively for a hotel room per night.
The HPI is a regular report on hotel prices in major destinations across the world, tracking the movement in prices that people actually paid for their accommodation and providing valuable insight into the reasons behind these changes. The data is drawn from bookings made on the hundreds of thousands of hotels on the Hotels.com websites worldwide.
