With Covid-19 Vaccination drives in full steam across the world, an independent survey conducted by TAT New Delhi found that 73 per cent millennial travellers would prefer international destinations with fewer Covid cases and about 67 per cent would want to go to destinations with easy Covid policies and protocols.
All thanks to the pent-up travel demand, things are looking up for tourism sector as 66 per cent millennial travellers are willing to travel to Thailand as soon as it opens up. With COVID-19 vaccination drives picking up steam across the world, bringing hope to millions that an end to the pandemic is on the horizon, 73 per cent millennials would prefer to go to international destinations with fewer Covid cases. As per the report, 67 per cent millennials would opt for destinations with defined Covid protocols to avoid unnecessary hassles while planning their international holiday in the ensuing holiday season.
Riaz Munshi, President, Outbound Tour Operators Association of India (OTOAI), said, “The findings aptly reflect the pent up travel demand among the Indian millennial travellers. We have started receiving queries for international travel for the upcoming holiday season but travellers are cautious too with respect to Covid restrictions, better connectivity and in selection of international destinations. It is not at all surprising that Thailand is a preferred destination for Indians who wish to travel for the purpose of tourism, shopping, golf, meetings or wellness and I am confident that it will be one of the first to pick up outbound traffic from India.”
The Independent survey was done with over 7800 millennial travellers across the country for over a period of four weeks in August 2021 and revealed that 61 per cent millennials would look for better connectively while selecting an international travel destinations while 27 per cent would prefer short-haul destinations. Interestingly, 38 per cent millennial travellers would base their decisions on attractive destination campaigns highlighting their unique features and offerings. A whopping 68 per cent millennial travellers are willing to travel to Thailand for their next vacations.
Chattan Kunjara Na Ayudhya, Deputy Governor, Tourism Authority of Thailand, “We are quite pleased to see tracker results that there is such a keen interest to visit Thailand among the Indian travellers. India has always been one of the key markets for Thailand. Phuket, Pattaya, Krabi, Bangkok and Koh Samui have become very popular with Indian tourists. They have attracted high-end tourists, honeymooners, and also budget travellers from India, because the beach destinations have diverse choices of accommodation, from luxurious five-star hotels, to comfortable resorts, budget hotels and bungalows. We are glad that India has been added to the list of low and medium-risk Covid countries and travellers from India are now allowed to visit Thailand under the guidelines included in our special pioneering projects like Phuket Sandbox. We are ensuring that all the hotels, restaurants, sightseeing spots, tour companies have gone through stringent checks and been certified in order to welcome international tourists.”
According to the survey, 83 per cent millennials would prefer Beach destinations for their next holidays followed by Wellness & Spa destinations and Staycation at hotels and resorts at 65 per cent and 53 per cent respectively. Interestingly, 48 per cent millennials opted for Golf destinations and 43 per cent of them went for Shopping destinations.
The survey also touched upon new travel trends such as rise of couple & do-it-yourself travel and innovations like popularity of touch-less technology, voice-activated services and more automation in the hospitality sector. Travellers are still looking for destinations with fewer crowds and minimum exposure.
