After a tough two years, travel industry hopeful of recovery in 2022

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With the rate of vaccination against COVID-19 rising in India and the country recovering from the second wave of the pandemic, tourism has been picking up in the last few months.

People are already setting the trend of how they want to travel in the new year.

International forward bookings have jumped up nearly two times and there is over a 400 percent jump in advance bookings for the Christmas week as compared to last year, multiple online travel agents (OTAs) told Moneycontrol.

OTAs have also witnessed a significant surge in both international and domestic bookings for popular leisure destinations like Goa, Chandigarh and Jaipur for the end of the current year.

Leisure destinations lead the pack

“Metro destinations are on track to exceed 2021 numbers. Leisure destinations like Goa, Chandigarh and Jaipur are showing very strong uptick, compared to 2021,” said Cleartrip’s Chief Business Officer Prahlad Krishnamurti.

Krishmanurti added that even among international flights, incoming flights to India are showing a strong uptick. Leisure destinations like Manila and Abu Dhabi are also showing strong recovery, with Indians looking for vacations abroad.

The surge in travel seen for the end of 2021 is also expected to carry forward in 2022, despite the outbreak of a new variant of COVID-19, Omicron.

Pent-up demand, revenge travel

While the industry has seen a slight hit in international bookings, leisure demand for the domestic segment is still quite strong. In 2022, travel agents and online platforms are hoping for a bumper year on the back of pent-up demand.

“With an underlying pent-up travel demand, we are expecting a growth in revenge travel in 2022. Due to safety concerns, we are expecting a rise in demand for unique, unexplored destinations, short weekend getaways and road trips to nearby tourist destinations,” Nishant Pitti, CEO and Co-Founder, EaseMyTrip, told Moneycontrol.

He added that his company expects reunion travel to be a major trend in 2022 as people look to reconnect with family by taking a quick getaway trip.

“Year 2022 is set to witness a rise in travel spending by people as they are now, more than ever, ready to take those expensive once-in-a-lifetime trips that they had always wanted to embark upon,” Pitti said.

Wellness, weddings to be other themes

As an aftermath of the pandemic, there will also be a rise in people opting for short getaways that offer wellness and self-care activities.

Both Booking.com and EaseMyTrip expect vacations to become the form of self-care in 2022.

Booking.com said that its Travel Predictions research reveals that 85 percent of Indian travellers believe that a planned vacation has a positive impact on emotional wellbeing.

“In 2022, travellers are set to showcase an increased preference for locations that have a focus on wellness activities which help them to rejuvenate, and take a break from the monotony of their daily lives and lead a healthier lives,” Pitti added.

Similarly, wedding-related travel demand has also surged in recent months and is expected to continue well into 2022.

"With the pandemic stalling marriage plans for more than a year, people are getting back to the trend of destination weddings. Wedding-related travel demand has resulted in an increase in search queries for travel to popular wedding destinations like Goa, Udaipur, Shimla and Jaipur,” Aloke Bajpai, Group CEO & Co-founder, Ixigo, told Moneycontrol.

The travel industry also expects passengers to continue travelling even if partial lockdowns and curfews are introduced.

Travellers are more readily relying on applications and online platforms to navigate in the face of uncertainty during trips.

“The travel industry is expected to move further into a digital shift and adopt newer platforms and technologies that enable people to travel seamlessly. More companies in the travel space are set to integrate innovations such as artificial intelligence, virtual assistants, voice control modifications and recognition technology in the services that they offer,” Pitti said.

In 2022, the tourism industry also expects passengers to choose locations that are adopting sustainable tourism practices.