Every sixth Indian family goes out in overnight trip monthly: Report

Almost every sixth Indian family went out on an overnight trip a month, mostly to meet friends and relatives, a nationwide government survey has shown.

Almost every sixth Indian family went out on an overnight trip a month, mostly to meet friends and relatives, a nationwide government survey has shown.

Indian Tourister: A couple near the historic Taj Mahal on the eve of Valentine’s Day in Agra. (PTI)

The monthly trips added up to 58 million trips, 86% of which were for social occasions, reported the Times of India.

Other overnight trips were annual – adding up to another 56 million trips -- with holidaying, leisure and recreation making up a third and health reasons the rest.

The data was part of a recent National Sample Survey Organisation report on domestic tourism, based on a survey between July 2014 and June 2015.

The spending of families was the highest on health trips – RS 15,336 – possibly reflecting the growing need for specialized healthcare and the prohibitive costs of medical assistance in India. The second highest spending was for shopping trips, the Times of India said.