As travel norms become more flexible, 86% of Indian travellers surveyed in the 11-country APAC Travel Confidence Index said they intend to travel in the next 12 months. By comparison, Japanese tourists are at the bottom of the travel confidence index, still unsure whether they will restart travelling later this year.
Out of the 11 markets polled across the APAC region, India was also ahead of Vietnam and China in terms of Indians’ intent to travel sustainably, with 93% of the respondents agreeing that it is important to make sustainable travel choices. What’s more, Indians are also ready to put their money where their mouth is, with 82% willing to pay more if it means they can make more sustainable travel choices and 77% saying they are even okay with fewer options so long as their travel decisions are sustainable.
In comparison, for travellers from Australia, New Zealand and Japan, cost and a wide variety of sustainable stay options have emerged as the core considerations when it comes to making sustainable travel decisions.
The research report released by Booking.com, a leading online travel aggregator, shows that travel optimism among Indians remains high, with 70% accepting anticipated travel disruptions, but 78% considering leisure travel important for overall health.
The commissioned research, which polled 11,000 travellers from across Asia Pacific, explores the overall comfort levels, motivators and concerns of travellers and how this varies across the region.
While north Asian markets of Korea, Taiwan and Japan ranked lower on the index in terms of overall confidence in comparison to India, the research findings put an increased emphasis on flexibility in travel bookings and show an increased interest in domestic travel to avoid last-minute change in plans due to border or quarantine norms.
