Tourism Breaking News
New research released by Booking.com, the world’s leading online travel company, highlights Indian travelers Indians are eager to make their travel dreams a reality in the next few months while keeping health and safety in mind, with 88% of Indian travellers willing to share their medical history, current medical fitness and location tracking in order to potentially receive customized alerts on health concerns in the locations they are traveling to.
Personalization in the post-pandemic world
One of the biggest trends to emerge in the post-pandemic world is personalization. Traveller preferences are intimately personal, and a one-size-fits-all approach no longer works with 80% of Indian travellers who are okay to provide more of their personal information to their travel partners in exchange for a more personalized travel experience.
The insights have been drawn from Booking.com’s inaugural APAC Travel Confidence Index, which provides a snapshot of how confident consumers feel about exploring the world again and their motivation to travel. The commissioned research, which polled 11,000 travellers from 11 countries and territories¹ across Asia Pacific, combined with the company’s proprietary data and insights as a digital travel leader for the past 25 years, offers insights into the region’s travel confidence.
Top considerations and motivators for travellers while travelling
The Travel Confidence Index explores the overall considerations, motivators, and concerns of consumers across Asia-Pacific and how this varies across the region. According to the research findings, the desire to travel remains strong amongst Indian travellers, with safety (67%), cost (44%) and the variety of destinations and hotels/resorts (42%) being the top three considerations. When asked about their biggest motivators to travel, ‘assurance on health and safety’ emerged as one of the top motivators voted by 25% of Indian travellers, followed by 23% of Indian travellers having an intention to take a break from work and 20% of Indian travellers wanting a new accommodation experience.
Top travel deterrents amidst uncertainty
Unsurprisingly, uncertainty due to the constantly evolving COVID-19 situation continues to plague travellers. When asked about their top concerns and what would prevent them from booking a trip, ‘possibility of getting stuck because of frequently changing border regulations’ was listed as the top deterrent by 35% of Indian travellers (APAC 37%). This was followed by ‘travel cost’ and fear of having to undergo quarantine both at 33% each. (APAC average of 38% and 37% respectively).
In fact, the research findings put an increased emphasis on flexibility in travel bookings, as 89% of Indian travellers would postpone or cancel a trip if they saw a rise in COVID-19 cases at their travel destination.
Support Indian travellers expect from accommodation partners
According to the research, following the pandemic, there is a 5% increase in Indians wanting to book their next trip through online travel companies with 62% Indian travellers planning to book their next trip through Online Travel Companies such as Booking.com.
While making travel plans, Indian travellers are also seeking support from airlines, hotels and online travel companies in order to travel with peace of mind. Based on The Travel Confidence Index, 49% of Indian travellers anticipate travel companies to provide them with guidance on what to expect from their trip as well as 48% of Indian travellers wanting easy access to customer support. 47% of Indian travellers are also seeking clear instructions on any requirements that airlines or accommodations may have and 47% of Indian travellers want access to flexible cancellation with clear refund information is another aspect Indians consider when travelling in peace.
Ritu Mehrotra, Commercial Director, APAC at Booking.com said, “It is exciting to see India emerge at the top of Booking.com’s APAC Travel Confidence Index. The findings highlight Indian travellers’ love for travel and readiness to explore the world once again. And while travel optimism remains strong, it’s inspiring to know that the intent to travel sustainably is also a key consideration for Indian travellers. The overall insights are a promising indication of the opportunities available for the industry to adapt and collaborate now to bolster the overall confidence of travellers, so we can truly make it easier for everyone to travel and experience the world again – now and in the years to come.”
