Maldives emerges as the destination where Indian luxury travelers wants to travel post pandemic. This was revealed by the online survey: The Indian Luxury Traveller Report: Covid Edition.
The report is an outcome of an online survey of 3,500 Indian luxury travelers, conducted in May 2020. More than 70% of the respondents polled were from the big metros of India: Delhi-NCR, Mumbai, Pune, Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Ahmedabad. Seventy-three percent were in the 25-55 age bracket; 45% were salaried employees, 24% were self-employed/consultants, while 14% were entrepreneurs and 3% were retired.
A whopping 70% remain open to travelling abroad on vacation this year. Maldives was voted the destination they are most likely to choose, presumably for the natural beauty and luxurious resorts with a wide range of in-house activities for families to enjoy.
The survey further revealed that the Indian luxury traveler assumes that airlines, hotels and restaurants will have systems for hygiene and safety in place, but they want to see them being followed for themselves. Trust will be key. While flying, for instance, COVID-prevention measures will be the #1 factor while picking an airline. And at hotels, it will be imperative that guests are able to witness some of the cleaning process, are assured of the cleaning products being used, and that all staff are trained so that they can answer any questions or concerns guests bring to them.
Demanding they may be, but they are willing to pay extra for certain services such as a daily deep-clean of the room, or even a one-night-empty buffer (see graphic). And fully aware of the impact of travel on the environment, a whopping 65% said they are willing to pay extra if the hotel or resort is following sustainable and eco-friendly practices.
India is now one of the fastest growing outbound tourism markets in the world. While Maldives made record by welcoming 1.7 million tourists in 2019, Indian market took the second place among the top 10 markets in 2019.
Featured image: Asad Photo (Ibrahim Asad)
