TravTalk India Online Magazine
Travel ranks high among people’s wishlist, but at the same time they find booking travel a tedious and frustrating experience. On average, travellers visit a whopping 38 different websites before booking their trip, according to recent research.
Nisha Verma
Travelport has unveiled findings of a new survey that highlighted excitement to travel in 2022. The study, commissioned by Travelport and conducted by Toluna Research, polling more than 2,000 respondents from the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, Hong Kong SAR, India, Singapore and the United Arab Emirates.
It found that people would even be willing to give up some of their favourite things for six months or longer in order to travel. The research saw 71 per cent of respondents saying that they would forgo concerts; 64 per cent would stop buying new clothes; 63 per cent would give up spa treatments; 60 per cent would skip the cinema; 53 per cent would give up playing sports; while 36 per cent would stop dining at restaurants. “While the last two+ years have been a significant challenge, the global travel industry recovered more than 50 per cent of its gross activity by the end of 2021. Should this trend continue along the same trajectory, it could reach 85 per cent recovery by the end of this year. The pent-up desire to travel is strong,” said Jen Catto, Chief Marketing Officer, Travelport.
On the other hand, while the idea of travel saw a high degree of enjoyment, the same wasn’t true for booking the same trip, which involved frustration on behalf of the travellers. The study noted that 43 per cent of US respondents, the largest travel region, do not find booking travel enjoyable. However, 95 per cent of that same group enjoy the experience of being on holiday.
Globally, travel was ranked as the number one most enjoyable activity, but when it came to shopping for travel, the industry dropped to the number four spot, trailing the worlds of clothing, restaurants and electronics. This is not just a generational issue. A quarter of Gen Z respondents agreed the complexity of searching, comparing and booking travel offers just is not fun.
On average, travellers’ visit a whopping 38 different websites before booking their trip. Other industries have steamed ahead in terms of simplicity and innovation, evolving with their consumers’ sophisticated expectations, and shifting perceptions over time. Study respondents found the travel industry to be an outlier. “With demand for travel rebounding at its strongest pace since the pandemic began, it is imperative the industry listens to its customers. Now is the time to fix travel retail, putting consumer convenience, digital experience, and breadth of choice above all. By restoring clarity, confidence and fun to travel shopping, we can grow trust, generate business and inspire loyalty,” added Catto.
