MUMBAI: Indians believe that as compared to other nationalities they do not tip generously. They also have the perception that the tipping culture is stronger abroad. So, when in a foreign country they take care to tip well, lest they are seen as cheap travellers, said a survey done by an Indian online travel portal.

What’s more, those who are reluctant to loosen their purse strings often get a strong message from the servers. "From their tipping experiences, 71% respondents said they have had a service provider hint indirectly for a tip whereas 41% have been asked directly or specifically to part with a tip," said the survey, adding that 10% even recalled a situation where the service provider returned their tip indicating it was too low.

While 47% respondents said they tip if the staff have met basic expectations, 40% said they only tip if they have gone that extra mile in their service. "It also seems that people feel obliged to tip as a social norm or courtesy as 35% respondents agreed they tipped simply because they think it’s expected," said the TripAdvisor India Tipping Survey released on Friday. The survey was conducted among 1,400 respondents, all Indians.

'American's spend'

"Indians feel the most pressure to tip when travelling within Asia (32%) followed by North America (28%)," the survey said. Based on travel experience and common perception, Indians consider Americans (56%), and then the English (31%) to be the most generous travellers when it comes to tips. Indians were voted as the least generous (35%) followed by the Chinese (28%).

Nikhil Ganju, country manager, TripAdvisor India said: "While the survey clearly indicates that the practice of tipping is heavily prevalent among Indian travellers , it is strange to note that our perception of Indians as a community of generous tippers is very low, with only 15% respondents indicating Indians are generous tippers."

TOI found that the Indian perception that tips are more generous abroad holds true only in case of the US.