Most travelers in India are now ready to consider booking domestic and international trips, but only if airlines, airports, hotels and car rental companies collectively implement ten different safety measures: enhanced cleaning and/or disinfection, access to sanitizing gel/wipes, face masks and gloves, social distancing, temperature checks, mandatory wearing of face masks, fully flexible or refundable tickets, improved air filtration, contactless services, plexi-glass at check-in and managed boarding by row — throughout their journey, which includes fully flexible or refundable flight tickets. Furthermore, demand for almost every safety measure is highest in India, of the five countries surveyed. This is according to the results of new independent research released today by Travelport, a leading technology company serving the global travel industry.
The results of the study are based on a survey of 5,000 travelers across India, the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand, as well as in-depth interviews with 29 leading travel suppliers. The study found that at all parts of the travel journey, it was deemed critical to have social distancing rules, mandatory use of face masks, and ready access to sanitizing gel or wipes, face masks and gloves. The study also revealed, however, that additional measures still need to be implemented by airlines, airports, hotels and car rental companies to fully restore consumer confidence.
Martin Herbert, Senior Commercial Director- Operators, Travelport said, “The travel industry has introduced numerous initiatives to support a safe and responsible recovery of travel over the last few months. This research demonstrates just how important such measures are to ensure travelers feel safe. The industry now needs to ensure it is not only putting these measures in place consistently across the entire travel journey, but also communicating them effectively to travellers across the various channels and merchandising technologies available to them.”
Derek Sadubin, Managing Director at CAPA Centre for Aviation, added, “Safety and flexibility are understandably front of mind for travelers right now. The travel industry recognizes and respects this and, what’s encouraging, is that many suppliers, such as airlines, have already implemented the measures travelers say they need to book a domestic or international trip- but we still have a long way to go. Collaboration and communication are now key to restoring traveler confidence and securing a strong and responsible industry recovery.”
Sandeep Dwivedi, Chief Operating Officer at InterGlobe Technology Quotient, said: “Travellers’ safety and consistent communication of respective safety measures, including frequent modifications, is of utmost importance to restore confidence in travel. Travelport’s latest study is a commendable step in this direction, one that will help travel agents understand ongoing procedures and identify opportunities to offer better experience to end traveler.”
The safety measures currently being undertaken by more than 80 of the world’s largest airlines can be found in the recently launched Travelport Airline Health & Safety Tracker. The tool, which is free of charge and available to both Travelport customers and the wider industry, is delivered to both online and offline travel agencies through the Travelport COVID-19 Smartpoint Plugin, Travelport’s API-based merchandising solution, Branded Fares Data File, and through the company’s COVID-19 Resource Hub for the general public.
