72% Indians surveyed for research willing to travel next year

Travellers are willing to share health data to start travelling again. The findings show that 93% of the respondents globally are willing to provide the data for digital health passports or certificates, a slight increase from 91% in February

Seventy-two per cent of Indians surveyed for research commissioned by Amadeus, an IT service provider for the global travel and tourism industry, have said they want to travel next year. As many as 50% of the respondents said they want to travel globally while 57% in India for business this year.

The research found Indian business and leisure travellers were focusing on domestic and regional travel next year. (Satyabrata Tripathy/HT Photo)

The research found Indian business and leisure travellers were focusing on domestic and regional travel with both groups ranking Asia as the top destination next year. The survey of 9,000 people conducted across France, Germany, India, Spain, Russia, Singapore, the UAE, the UK, and the US shows the appetite to travel is high. It showed greater clarity on restrictions and guidelines will be key to unlocking increased traveller confidence

Over a third (35%) of the respondents said the current international guidelines on where and how to travel are confusing, making them less likely to book business or leisure travel. In the Asia Pacific, 37% of travellers in India and 40% in Singapore shared the sentiment.

The research showed the travellers are willing to share health data to start travelling again. The findings show that 93% of the respondents globally are willing to provide the data for digital health passports or certificates, a slight increase from 91% in February.

“Almost half (48%) of business travellers worldwide would be willing to provide their health data to visit a conference or event, compared to 53% in India and 54% in Singapore. Meanwhile, 36% of leisure travellers would be willing to share such information for an excursion or activity at the destination, versus 35% and 38% of Indian and Singaporean leisure travellers respectively,” said the survey findings.

Mani Ganeshan of the Amadeus Labs, India, said while there is much pent-up demand for travel, some of the challenges caused by Covid-19 continue to exist. “Digital health verification is important to increase traveller confidence and enable smoother travel experiences. Innovations like digital health passports need to be fully integrated into airline, airport and immigration systems to reduce customer pain points along the journey. Amadeus continues to advocate for closer collaboration between stakeholders across the industry including, airlines, hotels, technology providers and governments, to expedite the industry’s recovery.”