Indians more keen to travel domestically than abroad: Survey

What’s the one thing that Covid-19 put a stop to and which most people are itching to get back to? Travel. After nearly two years of start-stop travel restrictions, Indians are ready to pack their bags and take off, according to Singapore-based digital travel platform Agoda’s “India-genous Travel” survey report. However, people are keener to travel domestically rather than internationally as new rules and regulations abroad and the fear of being stuck is still there.  

Agoda’s “India-geneous Travel” survey finds that up to 68 per cent of Indians expect to travel domestically and 39 per cent internationally, within nine months of travel restrictions easing.  

Over a fifth (21 per cent) of Indian travellers plan to travel domestically within one month of restrictions easing, in comparison with only 6 per cent who are ready to jet set internationally, during the same time frame. 10 per cent and 16 per cent of Indians would like to wait for more than a year before they start domestic and international trips, respectively. However, the most cautious age group is the 45+ bracket, 28 per cent of whom do not plan to travel until all Covid-19 travel restrictions are lifted. 

The Agoda survey also reveals that almost three in five Indians (58 per cent) plan to take one to three vacations per year in the future followed by one in 10 planning to take four to six vacations.  

While a quarter of people expect to take the same number of trips as they did during the pre-pandemic times, another 25 per cent say they plan to take more vacations every year in the future.  

“Indian travellers are unstoppable in their desire to travel again, both domestically and internationally, with almost half planning to take the same or more annual trips than prior to the pandemic,” says Krishna Rathi, Country Director - India, Sri Lanka and Nepal, Agoda.   

The survey was undertaken online between September 21 and 27 among nearly 1500 adults. 

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