Tourism Breaking News
Yatra.com, leading online travel portal conducted its annual festive survey amongst 5000 respondents, highlighting what the travel trends look like in the new normal. The survey indicated an uptick in demand for travel as almost 75% of respondents said they are planning to take up a vacation compared to 2019 where 61% of respondents were willing to go on a holiday during the festive season. The trend of advance booking continues with 39.3% of respondents planning leisure trips for more than one month in advance to rest, relax, and recuperate. Safety and hygiene take priority while planning a holiday as travelers are looking at the number of cases in the vicinity, sanitization measures adopted, government guidelines, amenities in case of emergency, among other factors.
The survey revealed that about 52.5% of respondents are seeking medical/travel insurance for the sake of security and more than 50% of respondents said that they would be prefer ordering room service rather than visiting restaurants and bars. Taking extra safety precautions, about 72.1% of respondents said that they will be going through sanitization processes followed by monuments and tourist spots before planning a visit to them. This assurance is important as about 48.2% of respondents are planning their holiday with the family.
Interestingly, beating beaches as a preferred location for holiday goers, 37.9% of respondents said they would like to visit the hills, to escape the monotony and stress brought by the pandemic. Budget travel continues to see a spike as 35.4% of respondents are keeping Rs.10,000-Rs.25,000 per person as set targets for their budget during vacations.
Commenting on this survey Sabina Chopra, Co-Founder and COO, Corporate Travel & Head Industry Relations, Yatra.com, said, “Over the years, consumers have given priority to various aspects of travel while planning a trip to their desired locations. In 2020, they are looking at stringent safety and sanitization processes followed at every touchpoint of travel before choosing a location. According to our survey, travelers are being extra cautious as they are planning their trip with families. In terms of location, accommodation, or even preferred mode of transportation, travelers are ready to pay extra while ensuring all safety measures are in place. At Yatra.com, we have witnessed an increase of about 36% in booking enquires as compared to initial COVID levels, which we expect to increase gradually as we move deeper in the festive season.”
Additional highlights:
- With a boom in digital space and everyone moving to digital information-sourcing platforms, about 82.9% of respondents are keen on opting for online travel portals to plan their complete trip. About 17.1% of respondents will go to airline/hotel websites to make these bookings separately
- While workcation is one of the key trends which shot up in demand this year, only 31.8% of respondents have agreed to visit remote locations to work during the festive season while 23% of respondents may explore different destinations to log-in
- About 38.2% of respondents would like to use social media platforms during a vacation and share their experience, closely followed by 37.8% of respondents who would like to switch off from their social media completely while travelling
- About 35.3% of respondents would prefer 3-4-star hotels as accommodation options, followed by 21.2% of respondents who would like to take up 4-5-star properties. About 13.1% and 11% of respondents would like to stay in homestays and eco-resorts
- Preferred vacation time to unwind is a week for about 58.7% of respondents this season. About 28.1% of respondents have shown interest in exploring trends like weekend getaways
- More than 60% of respondents are comfortable traveling by flights, while 19.8% of respondents would like to take up private cars, and 9.2% of respondents would like to opt for trains
