Change in travel trends in India: Indians looking for new purpose or entertainment? Survey finds out
Two years of the pandemic has kept people largely confined to their homes, and needless to say, many have been dreaming about traveling to their favourite destinations or new unexplored locations. With Covid on its way to becoming endemic, it looks like 2022 is going to be the year that finally fulfills all their travel wishes.
As per a new survey report by American Express Travel titled ‘Global Travel Trends Report’, about 91% of Indians, the highest among all surveyed countries, said they plan to book a dream vacation in 2022 which they normally would not have considered before the pandemic while 87% want to book a once-in-a-lifetime vacation in 2022. This goes on to show that lifting of Covid curbs and resumption of international flights has led to a return of normalcy which in turn has led more and more people to break the chain of monotony and plan trips accordingly.
Manoj Adlakha, SVP, and CEO at the American Express Banking Corp, India, informs that there is a huge surge in travel bookings amongst their cardmembers for both international and domestic travel. He says that after two tough years, the travel sentiment amongst Indian travelers is upbeat where spending time with loved ones is a top priority. Their travel trends report says that to make the most of the lost time, 94% of respondents agree they plan to travel more with family in 2022 than they did in 2021 while 89% shared that they are more interested in multi-generational family trips than ever before
The survey report, based on data from seven countries including the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, and India, among others, reveals that discovering new experiences motivates 48% of Indians to travel, while 46% are looking to relax. All of these numbers are a clear indication that travel trends among Indians are definitely changing.
So, what is driving this change in travel trends amongst Indians? Let’s find out.
To create an impact
More and more people want to explore the local culture and have a positive impact on the community they are visiting. It probably might be the pandemic that has made people more aware of their surroundings. According to the survey, traveling responsibly is of high importance for the respondents as 94% stated they would take a ‘greencation’ and 93% are more likely to book travel with a brand that is committed to improving its environmental impact.
Ready to spend more
Up until the pandemic, people used to be 100% sure before making their travel bookings. But this travel rule seems to have changed this year. As per the survey, 92% of respondents agreed to make bookings this year, even if they had to cancel or modify their plans later. It might also have to do with the discounted packages that travel companies are offering right now, but the rules of bookings are definitely changing.
Spending more time with family
The pandemic has definitely changed the way we have been balancing our work and family time. With kids and elders now getting booster shots and vaccines, people are planning trips with their folks to experience and relish family vacation time. Going by statistics, 94% of survey respondents plan to travel more with family in 2022 than they did in 2021. 89% of respondents agree they are more interested in multigenerational trips than ever before.
Need for entertainment
A majority of people are looking forward to music festivals and attending sports and cultural events around the globe. According to the report, 89% of consumers held off on traveling for major entertainment events last year but have plans to return to these types of events this year.