TravTalk India Online Magazine
About 82 per cent of Indian travellers, the highest in the Asia Pacific region, have an appetite for sustainable travel and are willing to pay more if it means they can make more choices, reveals Booking.com’s inaugural APAC Travel Confidence Index.
TT Bureau
As various countries have opened their borders, Indians are eager to make their travel dreams a reality in the next few months! Around 86 per cent of Indian travellers stated they intend to travel in the next 12 months. They are eager for a leisure trip despite Covid-19 ffcurbs.
These insights have been drawn from Booking.com’s inaugural APAC Travel Confidence Index, which provides a snapshot of how confident Indian travellers feel about exploring the world again. The research, which polled 11,000 travellers from 11 countries across Asia Pacific, offers insights into the region’s travel confidence.
India tops TCI
The travel confidence index explores the overall comfort levels and concerns of travellers across APAC and how this varies across the region. Out of the 11 APAC markets, Vietnam, China, South Korea, Taiwan and Japan ranked lower than India on the index in terms of overall confidence, while travel intent among th respondents remained relatively high (above 60 per cent).
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.”
Top travel considerations
The desire to travel remains strong among APAC as well as Indian travellers, with ease of planning and booking travel being the top two considerations. Both ranked consistently high across all markets, even as restrictions started to continue to ease around the region. While corporate travel is beginning to make a comeback, the shift to remote working and virtual meetings has perhaps brought about a shift in the way we work.
Top travel deterrents
When asked about their concerns and what would prevent them from booking a trip, the possibility of getting stuck because of changing border regulations was listed as the top deterrent by 35 per cent of Indian travellers and 37 per cent travellers in APAC, respectively. In fact, the findings emphasised flexibility in travel bookings, as 89 per cent of Indian travellers would postpone or cancel a trip if they saw a rise in Covid-19 cases at their travel destination.
Reopening of borders
Because of the fear of future Covid-19 waves, there is a preference for domestic travel, despite resumption of international travel. As per the research, nearly 87 per cent of Indian travellers are likely to travel domestically. In addition, Indians continue to welcome tourists and visitors, with 87 per cent of Indians polled comfortable with India reopening its borders to international travellers. About 84 per cent of Indian travellers stated that they are confident about their country’s preparedness to safely receive international travellers.
Sustainable travel
Out of the countries polled across the APAC, India once again topped the index in terms of intent to travel sustainably, with 93 per cent of respondents agreeing on the importance of making sustainable travel decisions. The intent also translates into action as 82 per cent of Indian travellers are willing to pay more if it means they can make more sustainable travel choices and 77 per cent are okay with less variety in options as long as their travel decisions are sustainable.
