Most digitally savvy travelers in the world revealed by global survey

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Image: MStudioImages/IStock.com via AFP Relaxnews

India has been crowned the champion in a new list that ranks the country with the most digitally advanced travelers.

In a global survey by travel commerce platform Travelport which polled 11,000 respondents around the world, Indian travelers emerged the most digitally-savvy after analysts looked at the use of digital technologies for travel-related purposes in each country.

For example, more than other nationalities, globetrotters from India are more likely to use their smartphones for both booking and boarding a plane.

Likewise, the majority (82 percent) of Indian travelers agreed that digital boarding passes make traveling easier, compared to the global average of 70 percent.

After India, China and Indonesia round out the podium.

Meanwhile, on a global scale, the survey revealed the importance of peer-to-peer reviews found on sites like TripAdvisor, Expedia and Booking.com, as 81 percent of respondents said they read reviews when researching a trip.

Likewise, three-quarters of travelers said they return the favor and leave reviews themselves.

Meanwhile, a third of respondents said they now use their mobile device to book parts of their trip.

Free Wi-Fi has become less a luxury, more a necessity, and travelers are no longer willing to pay for the service. In the survey, 61 percent of respondents said they avoid hotels that charge for internet connectivity.

And throughout their travels, respondents said they use an average of 16 different categories of apps.

Here are the results of the Digital Traveler Rankings 2017:

1. India
2. China
3. Indonesia
4. Brazil
5. Saudi Arabia
6. Mexico
7. South Africa
8. United Arab Emirates
9. Colombia
10. Italy

The United States is ranked 11th, France 13th, Canada 15th and the United Kingdom 17th. JB

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