Whoever said ?life?s a beach? was probably right, at least where Indian travellers are concerned. As per a new study by Expedia, 71% of Indians surveyed by the online travel agency took a beach vacation last year, which made India the country with the seventh highest proportion of beach goers during that period. The number is even higher for the ones planning to take a similar vacation in the next one year (92%), the study notes.

The 2014 Flip Flop Report, which analysis behaviour and preferences among beachgoers in Asia, North America, South America, Europe and Australia, throws up many other interesting results. The survey was conducted online from March 11 to April 2 this year, among 11,165 adults aged 18 years of age and older, across 24 countries.

?This fun survey by Expedia reveals exciting findings. As per the survey, of the people who have taken a beach vacation in the past 12 months, 62% took a beach vacation outside their country of residence and 36% went to another continent altogether. Beach vacations are becoming more of a necessity than an indulgence, with 83% of Indians who have taken a beach vacation in the past year or anticipate taking one in the next 12 months closely associating their overall happiness with regular beach vacations,? says Vikram Malhi, MD, Asia, Expedia.

In fact, 80% of Indian beach goers would be willing to make sacrifices in exchange for an extra beach vacation this year ? 34% would work weekends for a month (third highest globally), 33% would give up a week?s salary (again, third highest globally), 29% would give up a month?s expenses on make-up/accessories/toiletries (second highest globally), 17% would give up date nights with significant other and 8% would sacrifice their first born child (highest globally), the study notes.

Among beachgoers who anticipate taking a beach vacation in the next 12 months, 88% say they will be looking for a serene, calm destination. This is especially true among beachgoers from South Korea (96%), Norway (95%), New Zealand (94%), Hong Kong (94%), Australia (93%) and Japan (93%). As per the survey, the highest percentage of beach goers looking to book a party destination includes Indians (27%), the Netherlands (25%) and Mexico (24%).

When contemplating a beach vacation, the thoughts of spending time with children (51%), spending time with spouse/partner/significant other (46%), sampling local cuisine (44%) and relaxing by the pool/ocean (40%) get people most excited.

Globally, Indians rank first in being excited to take part in beach sports (41%); second in partying (49%) after Brazil (87%); third on spending time with children (74%), spending time with partner (67%), taking part in water activities (52%), going to the spa (35%), people watching (28%); and fourth in relaxing by the pool/ocean (60%).

Across the globe, Indians rank first for being most anxious about feeling body consciousness (24%) and seeing people in Speedo bathing suits (16%); second for quality of the hotel (40%), not being able to access Wi-Fi/Internet to check work e-mails (27%), seeing people sunbathing nude or topless (22%) and loud jet skis and motorised boats (25%).

The leading anxieties for Indians are their own children (49%), shark attacks (40%), quality of hotel (40%) and risk of theft (35%). The top three deterrents for Indians for beach vacations are shark attacks (36%), risk of thefts (34%) and quality of hotel (30%), the study reveals.

So where are the travellers headed to this year? Global beach goers name Spain (10%), Australia (8%), Hawaii (6%), Italy (6%) and Greece (5%) as the most likely destination fors their next beach vacation. Indians are most likely to take their next beach vacation in Mauritius (13%), Singapore (12%), Malaysia (11%), Australia (11%) and Hawaii (8%). Indians? most likely beach cities for their next vacation are Kuala Lampur (5%), Gold Coast (4%), Sunshine Coast (4%), Maui (3%), Penang (3%), Rio de Janeiro (3%) and California (3%), the study further notes.