BUSINESS RESEARCH METHODS GROUP ASSIGNMENT – GROUP 07

Title: Pre and Post COVID – 19 Tourism Choices of Indian Tourists – A Perspective of Travel Agents
and Tour Operator
Authors: Mr. Mahesh Randhave, Dr. Suvarna Sathe
Year of Publication: 2021
Problem Statement: Coronavirus has made people afraid of going out of their homes. Also, there are
several restrictions by state and central government on travel until everyone is vaccinated, which has
vastly affected the tourism industry.
Research Question: How has COVID-19 impacted the choices of the general public regarding
domestic and international travel? How has the domestic tourism industry changed after the pandemic?
COVID-19 pandemic
Introduction
Almost 90% of the travel agencies are promoting domestic tourism rather than international tourism
because it is in high demand and is more profitable.
The research paper titled “The effects of Novel Corona Virus” by Patel P. K. describes the impact of
Covid-19 on global tourism industry and estimates the damage to the same. Such pandemics directly
related industries like tourism and retail services sectors.
According to the CEO of NITI Aayog, Mr. Amitabh Kant, COVID-19 is a temporary crisis in the
tourism sector. Loss of revenue will be to the tunes of Rs. 1.5 lakh crores. But post COVID, tourism
sector will bounce back, with domestic tourism driving the bounce-back. Government can help by
funding tourism sector with soft loans, working capital and deferment on loan repayments. The
implementation of a lockdown in India at the onset of COVID was a crucial step in minimizing the
spread of the infection. With unlock in progress, the coming 8-9 months are crucial because the tourism
industry needs to utilize this time to survive and revive. The people serving in this industry need to
continue working for normalcy to be restored.
Objectives
To understand the implications of changed domestic tourism scenario due to COVID-19 in Indian
context.
Hypothesis
There are marked differences in tourism choices of Indian domestic tourists post COVID-19 which pose
challenges for travel agents and tour operators.
Research Methodology
Primary and secondary data sources and structured questionnaires were used to collect relevant data.
The questionnaire consisted of two sections covering domestic travel preferences and concerns of
Indian tourists, pre and post COVID-19. Convenience sampling technique is used to collect the sample
size for the research. Secondary data has been collected through books, research articles, etc.
Literature Review summary:
The researchers have screened relevant literature pertaining to pre-COVID tourism choices of tourists
and changes taken place post- COVID. The role of travel agents in Indian tourism scenario is crucial.
As a major link between tourism suppliers and tourists their opinion about industry trends and
perspective should be taken into consideration while gauging the pandemic the researchers have tried
to find out the tourism choices of domestic toasts in India and how the travel agents can play a vital role
in improving the tourism experience. There is variety of domestic tourism destinations available but the

Group Members: Dikshant Dahiya (127), Sumit Shekhar (095), Manish Kumar Gond (110), Padhmaja K (138),
Arpita Aswasthi (033), Naitry Daftary((055), Kevin Abraham Vazhayil(097), Harshit Gupta(075)
 BUSINESS RESEARCH METHODS GROUP ASSIGNMENT – GROUP 07

tourists are likely to choose the stereo type destinations. The role of travel agents is vital in domestic
tourism in India and there is ample scope for promotion of domestic tourism in India. But where there
is local tourism catchment areas people are seen taking out time to local attractions and enjoy the
neighbourhood more than ever before. The travel intensions would play a crucial role in getting the
travel industry on track in Pandemic era. The risk is more associated with international air travel as
Pandemic is globally spread and taking up air travel has a perceived risk factor the travellers may choose
the destinations which do not require travelling long distances and the alternative can be domestic or
local tourism where perceived risk is less. Cleanliness and hygiene would be the major concerns of
travellers upon choosing to travel post COVID-19. As many youths choose the option of hostels for
accommodation while travelling, it’s going to pose a problem now to follow social distancing and safety
norms as per COVID-19 guidelines. The youths would be forced to find more expensive
accommodations leaving the budget travel aside. The recovered travellers according to the author would
be the key element in recovering travel industry. Identifying such travellers and encouraging them to
travel is a difficult task but some countries have already taken steps in that direction. The tourism
entrepreneurs must pick the market clues to stay in business. There would be drastic change in tourism
trend post COVID-19 in tourism industry. It would be more inclined towards safe and sustainable
tourism. The lockdown is an opportunity for tourism industry and more tourist activity would be seen
in this field in coming days as people are tired of sitting at home and are seeking an opportunity to get
a break. To list a few are emergence of new tourism destinations, more preference to tourism sites which
are nearer, hygiene and safety precautions in travelling, rise in domestic tourism. The author is of the
opinion that the tourism stakeholders should not lose this opportunity to grab the tourists waiting to
escape the lock down fatigue. Also, the prediction is made about receiving more domestic tourists than
the international tourists in coming 2 years. The research underlines the importance of domestic tourism
in the difficult times of Pandemic and how it can sustain the tourism industry for the time being.
Data Collection:
The researchers have used both primary and secondary data sources to collect information. Structured
questionnaire was designed by researchers to obtain the primary data related to the research topic. While
preparing the questionnaire two sections have made one cover domestic travel preferences and concerns
of Indian tourists’ pre COVID – 19 and post COVID – 19. Convenience sampling technique is used to
collect the sample size for the research.
Section I: Pre COVID – 19
Travel Preferences: From the data collected we can infer that 50% of the Indian tourist preferred both
domestic and foreign. 10% Indian tourist only prefer domestic & 40% prefer domestic travel than
international.
Domestic Tourism Preference: People unlikely to consider nearer destinations or less crowded places
and mostly went for popular tourist destinations.
Preferred Mode of Transportation: People preferred air travel, railways and private vehicle rather
than public transport.
Preferred Form of Availing Vacation: Mostly people wanted to go for family vacation followed by
vacation with friends and mixing leisure with business.
Duration of Domestic Trips: Data infers that people were unlikely to prefer one day trip and greater
than five days trip.
Preferred Locations: Beaches were more preferred location followed by major cities among domestic
tourists.

Group Members: Dikshant Dahiya (127), Sumit Shekhar (095), Manish Kumar Gond (110), Padhmaja K (138),
Arpita Aswasthi (033), Naitry Daftary((055), Kevin Abraham Vazhayil(097), Harshit Gupta(075)
 BUSINESS RESEARCH METHODS GROUP ASSIGNMENT – GROUP 07

Domestic Travel Motive: Most people preferred domestic travel for leisure followed by business
purpose.
Section II: Pre COVID – 19
Domestic Tourism Plans: Current Scenario: From the data it can be inferred that Covid has very
minimal effect on domestic tourism.
Domestic Tourism: Time required to come back to Normal Level: Most travel agents believes that the
situation will be back to normal by April 2021.
Budget for Domestic Tourism: Almost 90% of travel agents and tour operators suggest that Covid-19
has no impact on travel budget.
Current Domestic Tourism Demand: 80% travel agents believe that there is negligible impact on
domestic travel demand.
Sustenance in Tourism Business: 70% travel agents and tour operators have not seen any
sustainability issue due to Covid-19.
Travel Preferences: Data suggests that people are not considering international tourism as of now.
Domestic Tourism Preference: Oppose to pre covid time now Indian tourist prefer less crowded and
nearer location for travelling.
Preferred Mode of Transport: People are preferring Private Transportation over all other means.
Preferred Form of Availing Vacation: People were opting for family trips followed by couple trips
and business trips.
Duration of Domestic Trips: One day trips are most preferred after the pandemic.
Preferred Location: Beaches are the most preferred location for domestic tourists followed by hill
stations.
Conclusion
The paper revolves around the researchers developing questionnaire to check on the following
hypothesis
H1: There are marked differences in tourism choices of Indian Domestic tourists post COVID’19
H2: The changed domestic tourism choices in India post COVID’19 is posing challenges for travel
agents
Based on the data, H1 was proven right. The observed points include
Pre-Covid: There was equal urge and demand for both domestic and International tourism. Tourism
have improved in areas which are less crowded lest the fact people preferred popular destinations. The
preferred mode of transport was equally distributed across road, rail and air. Family time was the due
importance, and it remains unchanged. The preference mainly lied to in-state travel. Leisure remains
the main moto for tourism. The impact of COVID’19 on payments was not observed to the slightest
extent. Domestic tourism holds a better stance.
Post Covid: Domestic tourism is predicted to increase more as compared to international tours, creating
opportunities for stakeholders to invest in it. Tourists are willing to spend their vacations in less crowded
destinations which are near to them and are preferring private transport over public ones. Beaches are
the most preferred destinations and tourists have chosen short trips over long trips, and the least
preferred destinations include places in East India. The vacations are now mostly leisure followed by

Group Members: Dikshant Dahiya (127), Sumit Shekhar (095), Manish Kumar Gond (110), Padhmaja K (138),
Arpita Aswasthi (033), Naitry Daftary((055), Kevin Abraham Vazhayil(097), Harshit Gupta(075)
 BUSINESS RESEARCH METHODS GROUP ASSIGNMENT – GROUP 07

religious trips. The tourism industry is confident about its recovery to normal levels post COVID within
3 months of the beginning of vaccination in India and finds that they need not cut down on prices for
providing tourism opportunities to travelers, and this remains in favor of the tourism industry.
Based on the results observed, on a whole domestic tourism has in fact a more preferred rather than the
international tours. This is good for the country as the country’s tourism is enriched and people spend
in the country thus enabling growth.
Potential Applications of the Findings:
1. People are willing to go domestic travel. They are willing but they need to be reassured that the
places are sanitised. Government needs to implement guidelines and protocols to ensure this.
2. Government should give travel insurance to the passengers to ease out their fears about
traveling.
3. Domestic travel should be given a boost by government support, subsidies, etc. Low prices will
attract more consumption and sustain the industry with possibilities of improvement.
Critical Review:

• We can see that no data about government protocols has been used for this research.
• Also, the paper contradicts itself by its finding that domestic tourism is not affected while the
problem statement states that there was a great loss to the tourism industry.

Group Members: Dikshant Dahiya (127), Sumit Shekhar (095), Manish Kumar Gond (110), Padhmaja K (138),
Arpita Aswasthi (033), Naitry Daftary((055), Kevin Abraham Vazhayil(097), Harshit Gupta(075)