86% Indian travellers plan to travel in the next 12 months
Premium- The desire to travel remains strong among Asia Pacific as well as Indian travellers, with ease of planning and booking travel as well as cost being the top considerations
NEW DELHII: The vast majority of Indian travellers feel comfortable about the country reopening its borders to international travellers. A report released by Dutch-online travel agency Booking.com said Indians, too, are eager to drive and fly for a leisure trip despite some restrictions.
As the world starts to emerge from strict border closures, Indians are eager to travel in the next few months. About 86% of Indian travellers it surveyed said that they intend to travel in the next 12 months. And despite some covid-19 restrictions, travel optimism continues to remain high with 70% of Indian travellers accepting of anticipated travel disruptions and 78% considering leisure travel as important, while keeping overall health and safety in mind.
The company released its Asia Pacific ‘Travel Confidence Index’, which surveyed about 11,000 travellers from 11 countries across Asia Pacific.
The report said of the 11 Asia Pacific markets, India is the most confident, followed closely by Vietnam and China.
While the north Asian markets of Korea, Taiwan and Japan ranked lower on the index in terms of overall confidence, travel intent among respondents remained relatively high (above 60%).
The desire to travel remains strong among Asia Pacific as well as Indian travellers, with ease of planning and booking travel as well as cost being the top considerations.
While corporate travel is beginning to make a comeback, the shift to remote working and virtual meetings has brought about a shift in the way people work. Despite many employees having returned to the office across India, only 25% of Indian travellers (average of 13% in Asia Pacific) indicated that work was a reason for them to book a trip.
Indians continue to remain welcoming to tourists and visitors, with 87% of Indians polled comfortable with India reopening its borders to international travellers. And 84% of Indian travellers said they are confident about their country’s preparedness to safely receive international travellers.
“The findings highlight Indian travellers‘ love for travel and readiness to explore the world once again," said Ritu Mehrotra, commercial director for the Asia Pacific region for Booking.com.