Young professionals to lead 1st phase of 'immediate' travel post lockdown: Survey

Young professionals will lead the first phase of 'immediate and essential travel' once the lockdown restrictions are relaxed, a survey has revealed.

The second phase of the nationwide lockdown to contain COVID-19 infections is scheduled to end on May 3.

While many are willing to stay put for the next few months until the situation improves, 25 per cent of the 'young Indian workforce' have shown a strong sentiment towards travel immediately to return home or to their work city, visit friends and family, for business and for medical purposes, the survey by online travel company MakeMyTrip has found.

The survey was commissioned by MakeMyTrip's Consumer Insights team between April 1-15 among 1,500 respondents between the age group of 18 to 55 years.

Most people who are willing to travel immediately comprise millennials or working professionals within the age group of 25 to 35 years.

"In these uncertain times, we are closely gauging customer sentiment to better understand what travel would look like once restrictions ease. While travel will take a while to normalize, our survey helps us understand specific customer needs and concerns.

"This will help us do all we can to help make our customers' journeys easier and safer and also work closely with our partners to ensure that together, we are ready to address concerns and meet customer expectations," MakeMyTrip Group Chief Marketing Officer Sunil Suresh said.

As people anticipate what post COVID-19 world will look like, travellers will be seen shifting towards conscious travel with people prioritizing social distancing and high safety standards, the survey said.

It found that over 57 per cent travellers have shown a high preference for air travel, followed by 22 per cent opting for self-drive car rentals, suggesting an increase in the number for people preferring weekend getaways or travelling to nearby tourist destinations.

In parallel, accommodation choices are expected to see an equal degree of transformation with travellers choosing to book premium standardised properties that follow sanitisation and hygiene protocols (38 per cent) or staying at a friend's or relative's place (25 per cent), indicating the need for stringent hygiene standards, it said.

Some of the parameters that rank high for hotel bookers include opting for a hotel that prioritises cleanliness and practices safety guidelines as directed by the World Health Organization and the government (69 per cent), conducts regular sanitisation of rooms and bed linens (62 per cent), employs well trained staff with adequate protective gears (52 per cent) and offers an option to pay later with free cancellations up to 24 hours prior to the check-in (31 per cent).

Other factors include facilities for in-room dining, availability of disposables for serving food and 24/7 helpline, it added.