India leads Asia-Pacific in its intent to travel in the second half of 2022 with 50 per cent Indians expressing the desire to spend more money on booking a vacation in the survey conducted by Travel Lifestyle Network in a post-pandemic setting. While international travel still remains a point of contention among many, with only 15 per cent respondents willing to travel abroad, 29 per cent people are planning to vacation in India. India emerged as the global leader in domestic travel with 24 per cent people undertaking at least one vacation every month, for which the global average stands at 11 per cent. The country is also way-ahead of its global counterparts in business travel with almost 18 per cent Indians travelling for work within the country once a month.
With participation from 179,446 people across 28 countries, the survey, released last week, provides insight into the state of travel across the 28 relevant markets including travel behaviour patterns.
In terms of leisure travel, over 36 per cent Indians are most likely to take road trips in 2022, followed by long weekends influencing 34 per cent of Indians to bite the travel bug. In terms of factors influencing travel behaviour, India is at par with the global average, as at least 26 per cent of Indians indicated that their destination choice would be based on value for money, while 22 per cent attributed it to a relaxing experience.
In the context of the evolving cost-of-living crisis, with inflation rates soaring in many countries, the travel industry needs to contend with consumer concerns relating to the price of travel. Affordability is likely to have a significant impact on travel-related purchasing in the second half of 2022 and into 2023 with over a quarter (26 per cent) of the global respondents rating value for money as the key factor that has the most impact on decisions about where to travel on vacation. Overall, the survey discovered that wanderlust abounds with a strong desire to seize the experiences that travel offers in the post-Covid climate.
