Almost 80% Indians want their travel to benefit communities: Survey

Travellers willing to discover rural areas and pay a premium for sustainable tourism, says research on Asia-Pacific respondents

At least 79 per cent Indians want their travel to benefit local communities and 69 per cent are willing to pay a premium for sustainable tourism, said a survey tracking how the pandemic has changed practices.

The survey, commissioned by Airbnb and carried out by think tank Economist Impact, had more than 4,500 people respondents across nine countries in the Asia-Pacific region including India.

“Following the pandemic, travellers are thinking more about the implications of their travel choices and decisions”, said Pratima Singh, Senior Manager for Policy and Insights at Economist Impact. “As demonstrated by our survey findings, we’re seeing a trend where people are attempting to make their travel decisions more sustainable—economically, culturally and environmentally.”

Another impact of the coronavirus pandemic and lockdowns to contain the disease is travellers willing to go to rural areas and explore new destinations.

The survey found more than 56 percent of people are planning to engage in more domestic travel than in the past, with the aim of allocating more of their travel budget to destinations within their own country.

At least 68 per cent respondents said they are willing to forego comforts and luxuries on a holiday if their actions can support sustainable tourism outcomes with 64 percent prepared to avoid holiday destinations that are faced with sustainability challenges.

The research further found that more than two-thirds of Indians say it’s important to them that they’re creating a positive impact for locals, with 58 percent saying it’s important that they’re not contributing to issues such as overtourism.

More than 60 percent respondents said they are conscious that communities are in need of economic recovery and they would factor this into where they travel and how they spend their money. As many as 67 percent of Indians say they’ll be more conscious when it comes to familiarising themselves with what’s important to the communities they’re visiting and how they can make a contribution.

Over 50 percent of Indian travelers said that technology-driven solutions can make the tourism industry more inclusive, by enabling a wider range of local stakeholders to benefit economically.

"People are increasingly becoming more thoughtful and deliberate about the ways they can use travel to make a positive contribution to the communities they are visiting. We’re seeing the rise of a new form of ‘conscious travel’ that will benefit communities across India in new ways,” said Amanpreet Bajaj, General Manager - Airbnb India, Southeast Asia, Hong Kong and Taiwan.  

Creating equitable outcomes and income for locals, as well as engaging with new social experiences and meaningful connections, emerged as the top two most important aspects of sustainable travel for those surveyed.