Tourism in India to take another beating in the second wave of COVID-19

While outbound travel plans and inbound travel anticipation still look miles away, but domestic tourism surely and slowly had started picking up as lockdown norms were eased. Now, with the recent surge in COVID-19 cases in the country, a second wave poses a greater threat and concerns to yet another round of summer holidays and beyond that. TTJ tries to find out some factors which will deter a tourist from taking that vacation.

In normal times, summer is a season that almost everyone in India waits for all year long, and yet here we are again, all locked up in our homes, waiting for the deadly Coronavirus to spare the human race.

For the travel and tourism industry in India, with several people having put their travel plans on hold and that it is solely relying on domestic tourists in these difficult times, the latest surge in new cases has pushed the sector into further crisis.

However, travellers have a different mindset, and key insights from the latest InterMiles Consumer Sentiment Index (Travel) 2.0 reveals that while 2020 witnessed the rise of the essential traveller, the new and evolved 2021 Indian traveller is looking for adventure and is keen on exploring new destinations, in an attempt to leave behind the monotony of 2020. The roll-out of vaccines and pragmatic innovations across the travel chain seems to have contributed to this increase in consumer confidence. Almost 65 per cent of Indians have shown intent to travel for leisure and adventure in 2021. Also, over 60 per cent of Indians expressed confidence in domestic, regional and local travel.

Presently, even for travellers it is a dicey situation: to travel or not? While the thought of the risk of the infection is on a higher scale, the present rules of compulsory RT-PCR test and states imposed travel curbs make them think twice before proceeding for bookings. Another problem is that each State has its own rules now, which are further complicating travel arrangements. Curfews, quarantines, and the constant fear of infection don’t make a good holiday plan for any individual or a family.

The country went into many lockdown modes since March 25, 2020, restricting 1.3 billion people to travel with ease. For most Indians, after spending more than a year under duress of the pandemic and distancing socially, the urge to travel is getting stronger and stronger. Other than a break or a vacation, many want to travel to meet family and friends, and many are still considering business or work travel in 2021.

Many tourists feel safe at travelling in their personal cars and they can be a prime target for hoteliers, staycationers, or home-stay owners who follow the required COVID-19 guidelines and protocols and ensure customers on-demand demonstration of safety and precaution at their property. It is time for isolated properties in the nearby location around cities and towns to create demand by their aggressive marketing efforts, which will allow them to build a new customer base.

Air travel is something travellers are comfortable with, but a recent trend that has been noticed off late is that passengers are booking their flight tickets closer to their journey date to reduce uncertainty regarding their COVID-19 test. Since COVID-19 negative test reports which are to be submitted must not be older than 72 hours before their journey date, most passengers are booking tickets closer to their journey date to reduce the certainty to some extent. However, in the present situation, the average number of air passengers taking a flight has seen a dip with sharp spikes in COVID-19 cases in the country.

With the rising number of COVID-19 cases, a sudden surge in the movement of railway passengers at stations was reported recently from across the country. Many travellers are those who fear an imminent lockdown due to the crisis, and that is the reason behind their trips. For the tourist, it doesn’t make travel conducive in a kind of panic situation, even if there is no requirement for a COVID-19 negative certificate to travel by Indian Railways. Also, there is always a risk of passenger trains getting stopped or curtailed, if infection numbers rise.

Flexibility in date changes and last-minute free cancellation policies are other important key factors when making travel decisions. Many wary regular travellers who had made international or domestic travel plan back in 2019 for the summer of 2020 have still not been refunded and their chances to utilise the pending credit shells for this summer also look bleak.

It is estimated that the second wave could last up to the first week of June. Adding to the woes are, a plethora of new COVID variants still make a case for being wary about the overall recovery of travel and hospitality, and the onslaught of the virus presently has been more powerful than in the previous year. This makes it even difficult for Governments and tourism authorities to decide and to act as planned, strategised, or envisaged for recovery of tourism in the past few months.

However, with the travel industry crippled on all fronts, the central and state governments will need to play a key role in communicating and ensuring travellers’ safety, as well as empowering the tourism industry through investments and in new technology and innovations that would ensure a seamless, contactless travel experience that is sustainable too. More than that, the travel and hospitality industry have to come together and pressurise the governments chalk a way forward. Many travel associations are working on this front since the last year but more needs to be done as the Governments have still not fully registered the importance of tourism in the Indian economy.