• Summer Destinations Darjeeling hills
• Winter Destinations Kerala
• Hill stations Dalhousie and Ooty
• Beaches Kovalam
• States Goa
• Cities Jaipur
• Foreign destinations Switzerland
• Adventure Ladakh
• National parks Kaziranga
• Heritage sites Taj Mahal & Fatehpur Sikri
• Pilgrimage sites Tirumala-Tirupati and Vaishno Devi
• Responsible tourism Ladakh Homestays
• Travel portals MakeMyTrip
• Cruises Star Cruises
• Upcoming destinations Arunachal Pradesh
• Domestic airlines SpiceJet
• International airlines Emirates
• Hotels
  Luxury: Taj Hotels
  Heritage: Umaid Bhawan Palace
  Mid-range: Lemon Tree
  Budget: Ginger
  Spa: Ananda in the Himalayas
  International: Marriott

***

In its sixth year now, our annual readers’ survey shows no signs of running out of steam. This year, it’s bigger, with a slew of new categories: Best Responsible Tourism Outfits/Initiatives, Best Travel Portals, Best Cruises and Best Upcoming Destinations. We also hope it’s better. As usual there are a bunch of surprises, as well as a few predictable outcomes. Read on, dear reader, and thanks for the overwhelming response to our survey questionnaire.

Methodology Survey responses were collected, collated and analysed by market research company, Ipsos. As with previous surveys, the survey questionnaire was published in the October and November 2012 issues of Outlook Traveller, besides being offered online at outlooktraveller.com, with a deadline of November 30, 2012. The number of responses went up considerably this year. The final number that qualified was a whopping 2,380. To be as inclusive as possible, no filtering criteria were applied and all readers and site visitors were allowed to participate in the survey. Some of the categories were tweaked slightly, with fresh, new nominees for some added excitement.

All the winners are the proud recipients of an Outlook Traveller Award. Congratulations to all of you—after all, you’re worth it.

Photograph by Dinodia Photo Library, From Outlook Traveller February Issue, 2013

Summer Destinations

• Darjeeling hills 20%
• Himachal Pradesh 17%
• Kashmir 14%
• Ladakh 12%
• Uttarakhand 11%
• Nilgiris 8%
• Sikkim 8%
• Nagaland 6%
• Wayanad 4%

The top three spots this year go to the same destinations as last year—except a bit upside down. After four years of stealing the spotlight, Himachal finally steps down to give way to the Darjeeling hills, which has climbed from third place last year. Kashmir, usually a favourite, surprisingly dropped votes and slipped to third place. Interestingly, the only other change belongs in the last place, as Wayanad replaces the Dooars. The rest of the destinations hang on to the same spots as they did last year.

Photograph by Saibal Das

Winter Destinations

• Kerala 22%
• Goa 20%
• Rajasthan 17%
• Andamans 14%
• Orissa 7%
• Tamil Nadu 7%
• Pondicherry 5%
• Karnataka 4%
• Uttar Pradesh 4%

It’s no secret that everybody usually heads south when the cold rolls in, especially to the warm shores of either Goa or Kerala. This year, Kerala has managed to switch places with Goa after two years running, to grab the top spot. The state got lucky as Goa lost a dramatic 10% of its votes to fall to second position, allowing it to get ahead with the same number of votes as last year. Rajasthan and the Andamans retain their positions, while last year’s laggard, Tamil Nadu, has gained favour this year.

Photograph by Dinodia Photo Library, From Outlook Traveller February Issue, 2013

Hill Stations

• Dalhousie 13%
• Ooty 13%
• Nainital 11%
• Shimla 10%
• Gangtok 9%
• Kodaikanal 9%
• Munnar 9%
• Mount Abu 7%
• Mussoorie 5%

Big surprise here. New entrant to the nominee list, Dalhousie manages to beat all the old favourites—and a Queen, no less—to steal the crown. However, it shares its laurels with another hilly royal, Ooty (pic), which rose from last year’s second place after an additional 1% of readers voted in its favour. Nainital leapfrogged from seventh place last year, to come in a close second with 11%.

Photograph by Prashant Panjiar

Beaches

• Kovalam 18%
• Candolim 12%
• Mahabalipuram 11%
• Radhanagar Beach 11%
• Ganapatiphule 10%
• Agonda 9%
• Gokarna 7%
• Rushikonda 7%

This one’s a no-brainer. Say ‘beach’ and the automatic response would be Goa or Kerala. Or Kerala and Goa. So it’s really no surprise that the winning beach is to be found in Kerala. The ever-popular Kovalam bagged maximum votes, while Goa’s Candolim lagged behind in second place after managing to squeeze past Mahabalipuram. Goa features on the list again with Agonda sitting in sixth place. Tranquil Gokarna only managed to receive 7% of the votes in its favour.

Photograph by Atul Loke

States 

• Goa 16%
• Kerala 15%
• Rajasthan 14%
• Himachal Pradesh 13%
• Karnataka 8%
• Tamil Nadu 8%
• Gujarat 6%
• Jammu & Kashmir 6%

You can’t keep a beach state down. Not for too long, anyway. Scraping past Kerala and Rajasthan—which held on to the top two slots for the last three years—by a narrow margin, Goa claimed its place in the sun this year. We’re also glad to see underdog Himachal Pradesh rising through the ranks for the very first time to make a very respectable fourth, only a percentage point below Rajasthan.

Photograph by Corbis, From Outlook Traveller February Issue, 2013

Cities

• Jaipur 17%
• Delhi 12%
• Hyderabad 10%
• Mysore 10%
• Srinagar 10%
• Ahmedabad 9%
• Mumbai 8%
• Kochi 6%
• Lucknow 5%

Everyone’s favourite tourist city remains everyone’s favourite tourist city: Jaipur retained its crown, beating the rest by an even larger margin this time. Unlike the tight contest of our previous survey—with a single percentage point separating the top three—the Pink City has a five point lead this year. But it’s the entry of Srinagar towards the top of the table—in a tie with Mysore and Hyderabad—that tells us that the Valley is truly back in the fray.

Photograph by Corbis, From Outlook Traveller February Issue, 2013

Foreign Destinations

• Switzerland 17%
• Singapore 16%
• Australia 12%
• Maldives 9%
• Thailand 8%
• New Zealand 7%
• Egypt 5%
• UK 5%
• Bhutan 4%
• South Africa 4%
• Spain 4%

No matter where we take you through the year, you tend to return to that evergreen tourist paradise, Switzerland. Unlike last year’s thumping victory though—with over one-fourth of the total votes and a lead of 16% over Singapore—the Alpine country edged past the Little Red Dot by only a single point this year. Meanwhile, Australia remains steadfast in the third position. And it’s interesting to note that destinations such as faraway New Zealand and exotic Egypt are hot in pursuit of the top spots, not far behind staples such as Thailand.

Photograph by Ahtushi

Adventure

• Ladakh 19%
• Uttarakhand 18%
• Andamans 17%
• Goa 13%
• Himachal Pradesh 10%
• Lakshadweep 8%
• Nilgiris 5%
• Sahyadris 5%
• Sikkim 4%

Uttarakhand has climbed many mountains since it finished nearly at the bottom of the heap a couple of readers’ surveys ago. However, the state was pipped at the post by the adrenaline junkie’s perennial favourite, Ladakh, which came second last year. It was a tight race, with just a single percentage point separating the top three—the Andamans rose in favour to garner 17% of the votes and bagged third place. Oddly enough, Himachal Pradesh dropped a couple of spots to end up in fifth place, behind Goa.

Photograph by Dinodia Photo Library, From Outlook Traveller February Issue, 2013

National Parks

• Kaziranga 15%
• Bandhavgarh 14%
• Ranthambhore 12%
• Nanda Devi 11%
• Periyar 11%
• Sunderbans 11%
• Nagarhole 9%
• Kanha 8%
• Pench 6%
• Namdapha 2%

Kaziranga has been quietly climbing the popularity charts for the past few years, and this year the home of the rhinoceros topped the survey fairly handsomely. Bandhavgarh stayed put at second and the other popular ones held their own as well. Recent interest in Nanda Devi elevated it from eighth place to fourth. Perennial winner Corbett has clearly had a bad year in more ways than one, and didn’t figure on the charts at all.

Photograph by Madhu Kapparath

Heritage Sites

• Taj Mahal & Fatehpuri Sikri 24%
• Ajanta-Ellora 10%
• Hampi 10%
• Aihole-Badami-Pattadakal 9%
• Darjeeling Himalayan Railway 9%
• Konarak 9%
• Khajuraho 8%
• Mahabalipuram 5%
• Chola temples of Tamil Nadu 4%
• Mandu 4%
• Built heritage of Delhi 4%
• Fort Kochi 3%

What can one say but: Wah Taj! Looming large over our heritage, the Taj, along with Fatehpur Sikri, emerges winner for the nth year in a row (we’ve stopped counting). Ajanta-Ellora and Hampi tied at second place with 10% of the votes. Visual impact, historical importance and, of course, architecture seem to have played a key role in the selection.

Photograph by Dinodia Photo Library, From Outlook Traveller February Issue, 2013

Pilgrimage Sites

• Tirumala-Tirupati 16%
• Vaishno Devi 16%
• Golden Temple 13%
• Ajmer Sharif 11%
• Char Dham Yatra 9%
• Bodhgaya 5%
• Dilwara temples 5%
• Padmanabhaswamy temple 5%
• Jagannath temple 5%
• Rameswaram 5%
• Sabarimala 5%

From last year’s third, Vaishno Devi inches up to primero position with 16% of readers’ votes, sharing the spotlight with Tirumala-Tirupati (pic), last year’s winner. The Golden Temple and Ajmer Sharif come in at second and third place, respectively. Spirituality was a key criterion, but also ‘visitor facilities’. Comfort, clearly, is the pilgrim’s new mantra.

Photograph by Ahtushi

Responsible Tourism

• Ladakh Homestays 22%
• Ficus Tours 16%
• Help Tourism 15%
• Village Ways 12%
• Spiti Ecosphere 11%
• Kishkinda Trust 7%

These days tourism is being blamed—and often correctly—for everything from endangering our wildlife to exploiting local communities. Therefore this brand-new category. We nominated outfits we knew were doing sterling work in helping local communities benefit from tourism at the same time as they engaged with the difficult job of preserving unique environments. Readers gave a solid thumbs-up to the excellent Ladakh Homestays network. Ficus’s natural history tours fascinated a good 16% of readers. Veteran Help Tourism came in third with a comfy 15% of the votes.

Travel Portals

• MakeMyTrip 32%
• Cleartrip 17%
• Yatra 14%
• TripAdvisor 10%
• Expedia 7%
• GoIbibo 5%

Another new entrant into our survey this year, this category seemed like a necessary nod to the ubiquitously useful Internet. The results reflect the rise of the all-purpose travel portal: not merely websites where you can book a flight or a hotel, they also offer crucial travel-planning assistance. MakeMyTrip emerged the clear leader (their package tours are popular), with 32% of the voted. Cleartrip, with its, well, clear navigation and easy booking systems, came in second. Yatra bagged 14% of the popular vote.

Cruises

• Star Cruises 32%
• American Cruise Lines 14%
• Royal Caribbean 14%
• Norwegian Cruise Line 9%
• SilverSea 9%
• P&O Cruises 5%
• Costa Cruises 4%
• Princess Cruises 4%

A new category that sailed into our survey this year. Everyone’s favourite cruise liner, by a long shot, seems to be Star Cruises, with American Cruise Lines and Royal Caribbean tied in second position with 14% of the votes. For the price-conscious and demanding Indian traveller, value for money and choice of destinations offered seem to have swung the verdict in Star’s favour. Even when we go cruising, we evidently prefer the familiar, the tried and tested.

Photograph by Sanjay Ghosh

Upcoming Destinations

• Arunachal Pradesh 27%
• Kashmir 26%
• Orissa 18%
• Chhattisgarh 13%
• Tripura 9%
• Bihar 6%

It’s a world hungry for the untried and unexplored—and so, another new category. Arunachal Pradesh came out with flying colours (27%), clearly the most intriguing of all options to readers. Kashmir ranked a close second—a well-loved tourist centre that later languished, the Valley has staged a comeback with an improvement in security and infrastructure, and the opening up of new areas. Orissa landed a respectable 18% of readers’ votes.

Photograph by Corbis, From Outlook Traveller February Issue, 2013

Domestic Airlines

• SpiceJet 54%
• IndiGo 20%
• Jet 13%
• Air India 9%
• GoAir 3%
• Kingfisher 1%

The winner of our fourth survey, SpiceJet lost out to IndiGo in the fifth, but has made a big comeback. There’s been drama in the high skies this year, as readers know to their doubtless disgruntlement—an airline grounded, airfares skyhigh, and so on. But the big change is the dissolving of the distinction between ‘low-cost’ and ‘full-service’—the former being an entirely wishful term and the latter largely charitable.

International Airlines

• Emirates 15%
• Singapore Airlines 12%
• Lufthansa 11%
• British Airways 5%
• Qatar Airways 5%
• Cathay Pacific 4%
• Thai Airways 3%

History does repeat itself, but you’d think that the skies would shower some surprises on us every now and then. Not this time. Emirates, last year’s winner, is this year’s too. Singapore Airlines pulled ahead of Lufthansa, with which it shared second spot last year. Readers still harbour tender feelings towards British Airways (5%). And Qatar Airways is gaining currency, with 5% too.

Photograph by Corbis, From Outlook Traveller February Issue, 2013

Hotels

We’ve always left this category open-ended, left it to you to tell us your favourite hotels in India. You were always loyal, naming pretty much the same hotels year after year. To enliven things a bit, we added two sub-categories this year to the previous lot. But that has proved little distraction: readers continued to be just as steadfast in their choices. The winner in the Luxury sub-category is, for a neat half-dozen times now, the Taj Group of hotels. For best Heritage hotel, though, the Umaid Bhawan Palace in Jodhpur (pic) actually managed to dislodge the Taj Mahal Palace Mumbai from favourite (never mind that they’re both Taj hotels). Another deserving winner was in the Mid-range sub-category, with the newish Lemon Tree hotels clearly leaving an impression on guests’ minds. Best Budget went to Ginger, yet again. In the newly introduced sub-categories, Ananda in the Himalayas was adjudged the best Spa hotel. And globetrotters bestowed the tag of best International on the Marriott chain.