Millenials resorting to riskier personal loans to fund travel plans - report

A growing number of millenials are resorting to the riskier personal loans to fund their travel plans, says a report. Personal loans are unsecured/collateral-free loans which are generally of short-term tenor and are priced higher as the risk is higher. Better regulated lenders have board- regulated caps on such lending.

There has been a 55 percent growth in personal loans for travel purposes, with 85 percent of those seeking such loans being the millenials, claims a report by digital lending platform Indialends. The millenials, as the segment of the population reaching adulthood in the early part of the 21st century, is addressed as, are borrowing between Rs 30,000 and Rs 2,50,000 to fund their travel plans, says the report.

Indialends founder and chief executive Gaurav Chopra attributed the trend to "leisure consciousness" among the young generation. "Not just those who don't have enough savings, but also those who want better travel experiences or wish to visit finer destinations are opting for personal loans," he said, adding this indicates the popularity of digital lending that is growing substantially now.

A lot these travel plans are the result of long weekends, the report said, adding such eleventh-hour planning leads them to destinations offering visa on arrivals. Such markets include Thailand, Dubai, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Nepal, the Maldives and Bhutan. The study also finds that luxury holidays to Europe, the US, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand are also sought after by the millenials.