The report states that Indians made higher travel bookings than last year in December, primarily depending on last-minute travel bookings.

RateGain Technologies, a SaaS company for travel and hospitality, recently released the second edition of its PULSE report highlighting the latest trends in India's post-pandemic travel & hospitality sector.

According to the report, Indians started stepping out to different cities in December. Flights operating between domestic destinations are filling to its full capacity, whereas the international travel was primarily limited to UAE.

"In the new normal ,the Indian millennial traveler would play a critical role in the recovery of the region and therefore this recovery is not encouraging for the domestic hotel industry but also for neighboring Asian markets that rely on China and India to drive their tourism markets," said Kamesh Shukla, EVP and Head APMEA, RateGain.

"Inspired by the travel taken by their family and friends, travelers continue to travel to tourist destinations such as Goa, Shimla, and Jammu two weeks after the new year emphasizing the role that social media is now playing in the recovery of the industry," he added.

The report states that Indians made higher travel bookings than last year in December, primarily depending on last-minute travel bookings.

India witnessed a recovery of 100 per cent during December. The report further states that the Indians booked last-minute travel mainly to travel during the end of December and the first week of January. Goa, Shimla, and Jammu have maintained their positions at the top 10 destinations for this month.

The 2021 Edelman Trust barometer reveals that around 80 per cent of Indians surveyed would like to get vaccinated against COVID-19 within the first 6 to 12 months of its availability. This was almost 2.5 times greater than the global average of 33 per cent. This reflects the optimism regarding the vaccine that the Indians share, instilling hope in the tourism industry for its gradual revival.

The report also highlighted that 65 per cent of these bookings were for the first two weeks of January, with no increase reported for the upcoming long weekend. It proves that in the new normal, last-minute bookings are preferred by Indians. However, this unpredictability makes it difficult for the hoteliers to map demand.

The top social media trends according to the report includes an increased engagement of hotels in the Maldives in the last quarter of 2020 due to replenished connectivity between the two destinations. The Maldives welcomed over 65,000 tourists.

Furthermore, Indian hotels witnessed the highest rise in engagement during November. This was primarily because of the surge seen by hotels in Mumbai offering staycations during Diwali weekend.

Hotels in Mumbai drew most of the engagements on Facebook and Instagram, around 150 per cent higher than the average engagement experienced by hotels in other cities. Bangalore's hotel sector saw the least engagement from Indian travellers.

Goa, the most booked destination in December, observed most check-ins in December and January. The destination also got three times higher engagement during November on Facebook.

Moreover, the report states that India's hotels are attracting more followers on Instagram by almost ten times as compared to Facebook. This showcases the hotels are targeting the young generation that is joining the workforce.