Believe it or not, but travelling to exotic destinations not only relaxes your body and mind but also makes you better person who is also conscious about environmental concerns. This is exactly what has emerged from TripBarometer, the world?s largest traveller and accommodation survey, which in its latest edition focused on Psychology of Travel.

As per the survey, which took views from more than 53,000 travellers and hoteliers around the world including 1,200 respondents from India, 51% of Indian travellers said they have become more open minded and tolerant as a result of trip, while 49% of them said that they have become more environmentally friendly. What has added to this advantage of travel, the survey said, is that after a trip people were prompted to immediately plan another vacation.

?This underscores the importance of travel as a great force that can bring people from different cultures closer together,? said Nikhil Ganju, Country Manager, TripAdvisor India, the company which commissioned the survey.

The travel bug is the main lasting post-vacation impact, as 70% of Indian travellers report that returning home from a trip has prompted them to plan another vacation, which is higher the global average of 66%, the survey has revealed.

Not only this, travel has also made people tasteful and better cooks with 36% of Indians saying that they have introduced new foods and recipes into their diets as a result of a trip, as compared to the global average of 38%.

Looking at Indian travellers by life stage groups, millennials are more likely to plan more vacations (77%) and learn something new (35%), as a result of a trip, while families are more likely to prioritize more time on relationships with friends and family (32%) upon returning home from vacation, the survey said.

But what prompts a person to travel to a particular destination. The survey has tried to unravel some part of this mystery by suggesting that a majority travel to a location guided by the desire to enhance their perspective.

While ?enhancing perspective? is the main driver for travellers around the world, there are variations in motivations when looking at different nationalities: while travellers from South Africa, UK and Italy lean towards ?harmony?; Brazilians, Thais and Chinese seek out ?liberation?; Indians seek out ?relationships? whilst Russians are more keen on getting ?luxury? from their vacations, the survey said.

It is Indian travellers? strong desire to bond with their loved ones that sets them apart from the average traveller. At 54% , ?relationships? is the third most important and distinguishing motivation for Indian travellers, exceeding the global average of 47%, according to the survey. What is perhaps most interesting is that 29% of Indians say they feel ?closer to their loved one? when they are back home.

TripBarometer also interviewed hoteliers who were asked to select statements that best matched how they wanted their guests to feel as a result of their stay. While this is not in line with motivation for travellers on holiday, the survey said, 74% of Indian hoteliers want to provide their guests with a sense of ?harmony?, compared to 73% globally. The good news is that over half (54%) of Indian hoteliers want to provide guests with a chance to broaden their horizons while they are in the destination, matching the ?enhance perspective? motivation most favoured by travellers.

This edition of TripBarometer also examined emotions travellers were most likely to feel at the five stages of travel: booking, arrival, during the stay, departure and back at home. Excitement peaks during lead-up and arrival, with travelers feeling most fulfilled upon returning home from a vacation.

Fifty four percent of global travellers report feeling ?excited? at the booking stage compared to 52% of Indian travellers. Excitement is still the predominant emotion on arrival at their destination (Global 55%; Indian 55%), with 34 percent of global and 35 percent of Indian travellers also reporting feeling ?energized? at this stage.

While there aren?t too many surprises in the emotional journey of travellers globally, breaking down the results by is a bit more revealing. Men have a higher tendency to feel ?knowledgeable? (27%) at the booking stage, whereas women are more ?excited? (60%) than the global average. Twenty two percent of men report feeling ?in control? on departure and 15 percent of men say they feel ?confident? once back home, higher than the global average at both stages.

The survey has also a word of advise for Indian hoteliers: there is more they could be doing to leverage travellers? feelings of excitement right from the start by providing local information about the destination and beginning to build a relationship with the guest before they even arrive.