New Delhi: An increasing number of air travelers are opting for pre-flight insurance and flexible travel schedules, said industry experts, highlighting the changes brought about in the travel industry post the pandemic.
Experts said travelers in the post-pandemic world are looking for more comfortable itineraries and are looking for experience-based travel, resulting in more bookings with activities already booked.
Sabina Chopra, co-founder and chief operating officer, said, “One significant change that I have seen is that people are ready to buy insurance…they have seen that their businesses are getting affected during Covid and their money The comeback has been stuck during three Covid waves.” officer for corporate travel, and key industry relations, said Yatra.com.
Following the COVID outbreak in March 2020, air travel was suspended for two months before gradually resuming in May 2020, allowing it to operate at full capacity in October 2021 was given. March 2022 after a gap of two years.
“The average room per booking for the April-June quarter increased for domestic and outbound holiday packages. Average nights booked for outbound packages for the summer quarter is up 27% compared to the same period last year; And about 85% higher than the pre-pandemic average. In domestic packages too, we have seen a 54% increase in average room nights booked this year as compared to the same period in 2019,” said Rajesh Mago, Group CEO, MakeMyTrip.
Despite planning travel well in advance, more travelers are looking to book tickets with zero cancellation charges and full refunds, despite experiencing last-minute flight cancellations during Covid.
“Last year was all about unplanned travel but travelers used to book closer to the date of travel. This year, we don’t have revenge tours. It’s business as usual…people are booking 4-6 months before travel…but people are looking for flexible options that can be changed a day in advance.”
There has been a sharp jump in demand for domestic air travel since December. Indian airlines carried a record 13 million passengers in March, up 11% compared to the same months in 2018 and 2019, according to data from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation.
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Air passenger traffic for March was also up 7% compared to February, and 21% higher than a year earlier, the data showed.
“There has been an increase in demand for domestic flights to tourist destinations. This has led to an increase in airfares across top travel regions in India, where we have seen an overall increase of 30-40% in estimated airfares,” said Nishant Pitti, CEO & Co-Founder, EaseMyTrip.
More people have also started opting for leisure and sustainable travel options.
“Sleep tourism, nature-focused ecotourism and adventure tourism are new trends being chosen by those who want to go a step further in improving their quality of sleep,” Pitti said.
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