Be it visiting your native place, or your grandparents, heading out to a resort town where you’ve relished some of the best food, enjoying the thrill of spotting a deer at a national park, or just spending quality time with your cousins by the pool, summer breaks often form some of our most cherished childhood memories. Such reminiscences of family vacations stay with us forever and bring a sense of joy and togetherness.
Keeping this in mind, we have rolled out a consumer study to understand summer travel trends among families. As per the study – Summer Vacation Index – Family Edition 2022, 82% parents said they have a difficult time juggling work and keeping children occupied during summer breaks. Our study highlights that over 65% of parents in India intend to plan vacations with their kids this summer, after two consecutive years of lockdowns during summer breaks.
These consumer insights have also become the genesis for our latest summer campaign – “Don’t let their summer break, break you” which highlights every parents’ dilemma — prioritising work while keeping kids entertained. Our campaign brings to life children’s yearning for a summer break through quirky characters. It is set to go live across multiple channels such as print ads, out of home, radio channels, digital films, direct customer connect and social media. This campaign is spread across various regions such as Delhi NCR, Mumbai, Bangalore, Chennai, Kolkata, Ahmedabad and Hyderabad. With this campaign, OYO aims to emphasize the importance of family vacations. 
India’s top destinations for summer breaks with kids
With 41% upvotes, Goa is the most sought-after destination for family vacations with kids. Other preferred top 10 destinations as per their ranking are Nainital, Rishikesh, Gangtok, Mount Abu, Pondicherry, McLeodganj and Mahabaleshwar.
Top 10 preferred destinations for family vacations with kids (Ranked):
- Goa
- Nanital
- Rishikesh
- Gangtok
- Mount Abu
- Pondicherry
- Puri
- Shillong
- McLeodganj
- Mahabaleshwar
Our survey reveals that kid-friendly amenities are a must for Indian parents while choosing a hotel. 58% of Indians would prefer a stay with a swimming pool for kids. 56% would prefer hotels with kids play areas, followed by proximity to water parks, big television in the room, among others. For summer holidays, short leisure trips of about 1-3 days continue to be the preferred duration for this year, followed by a strong preference for a week-long vacation by 38% of the respondents.
Speaking on the campaign and the report, Shreerang Godbole – SVP – Product & Chief Service Officer – OYO said, “Summer is a fun time for children. They look forward to this break all year long. During the pandemic, parents didn’t have a choice but to keep kids entertained at home themselves. However, this year is different. Parents are looking forward to heading out on trips with their kids to scenic locations like Goa, Nainital, Rishikesh, Gangtok, Mahabaleshwar among others. As per these choices, parents are opting for nature filled destinations especially at hill stations or by the beach. Our ubiquitous presence across these locations provides parents with suitable and quality stays for families who choose to head out, even at a short notice. We also have a large nationwide network of OYOs with the ‘Pay at hotel’ feature that allows flexibility and convenience for all travellers.”
Mayur Hola, SVP & Head of Global Brand – OYO said, “Kids have been stuck at home for the majority of the past two years. Summer vacations are all about playtime for kids. Not so much for parents though. They’re on edge, juggling between zoom calls and impatient children who are dying to head out. That’s why our latest campaign shares a friendly reminder with parents; take a trip as much for yourselves, as for the kids. From Assi Reach Gaye to now, our effort has been to widen the pool of people who consider an OYO, when looking to take a break right next door or in a land far far away. And it’s leading to some super cute output.”
Sample size: 1072 respondents