More than 65 per cent of Indian Travellers are actively searching for international flights and hotels

Following a long wait of 18 months, outbound leisure travellers are now eagerly looking to fly overseas as countries begin easing travel restrictions for fully vaccinated Indian nationals. With optimism and confidence gradually building up around international travel, more than 85 per cent of Indian travellers are keen on flying to one or more international leisure travel hotspots in the near future. The sentiment seems to be soaring high amongst all age groups – with 87 per cent of the surveyed between 30-35 years showing more enthusiasm to travel internationally before the year ends, indicates a recent survey conducted by MakeMyTrip.

Conducted from 15th August to 15th September 2021, the survey underscores a shift in travel sentiment with more than 65 per cent of travellers actively searching for flights and hotels in some of the most preferred international leisure destinations. Dubai (36 per cent), Maldives (33 per cent) and Switzerland (22 per cent) are the top 3 destinations that are high on the consideration list of leisure travellers currently. Whereas, amongst the list of countries that are yet to open travel for Indians – Thailand, USA and UK rank high in preference. Overall, amongst the surveyed, 43 per cent travellers are keen on unwinding in the idyllic beaches of Thailand and Bali; 39 per cent wish to go island hopping in Maldives and Mauritius; 37 per cent hope to indulge in soul-satisfying Mediterranean experiences in Turkey, Greece, Italy and Egypt, 33 per cent are eager to explore the contemporary and architectural marvels in Paris and London, and 25 per cent are dreaming of scintillating Switzerland.

Overall, amongst the surveyed, 43 per cent travellers are keen on unwinding in the idyllic beaches of Thailand and Bali, 39 per cent wish to go island hopping in Maldives and Mauritius,37 per cent hope to indulge in soul-satisfying Mediterranean experiences in Turkey, Greece, Italy and Egypt,  33 per cent are eager to explore the contemporary and architectural marvels in Paris and London; and 25 per cent are dreaming of scintillating Switzerland.

As cross-border travel restrictions ease across some countries, travellers are weighing multiple parameters when searching and planning travel. 54 per cent of the surveyed indicated that travel regulations including quarantine guidelines were one of the key reasons for shortlisting a destination. Others parameters that emerged from the survey include travelling to the destination fits into the budget (33 per cent), number of active COVID caseloads (13 per cent) among others.

Vipul Prakash, Chief Operating Officer of MakeMyTrip commented, “There has been a huge pent-up demand for international leisure travel and the survey rightly underscores that revenge travel will soon become a trend for international travel as well. On MakeMyTrip, recent flight and hotel searches to the destinations open for Indian travellers indicates strong demand as the festive and winter holiday season approaches.”

According to the most recent flight searches and bookings on MakeMyTrip, travellers are increasingly comfortable booking travel 30 to 60 days in advance. Given that international travel guidelines for Indian travellers continue to evolve, MakeMyTrip recently launched a new Destination Advisor feature to assist outbound travellers in searching between multiple destinations that meet their needs based on popularity, price and duration of the flight, safety regulations, and visa requirements, among other factors.