TRAVEL IN PANDEMIC

& BEYOND
TRAVEL PREFERENCES POST
VACCINATION ANNOUNCEMENT

A REPORT BY:
NATASHA BOHRA (EO19MUM016)
ABHIJIT PAUL (EJU20ONL44)

SAMIR INAMDAR (EJU20ONL37)

TOM JOSE (EJU20ONL10)

PAYAL BASAK (EJU20ONL05)

MIHIR BRAHME (EJU20ONL17)

CONTENT

INTRODUCING A NEW CONTEXT

METHODOLOGY

FINDINGS

IMPLICATIONS

REFERENCES
INTRODUCTION
The world has and continues to suffer losses and setbacks due to COVID-19. The Travel & Tourism
sector is one of those worse hit. Over 90% of the global population has adjusted to a life under
lockdown and travel restrictions and many others stayed at home in fear of the virus, which resulted
in the sector coming to a near-total standstill.

Indeed, more than 121 million global Travel & Tourism jobs and an estimated US$3.4 trillion in global
GDP could be lost as a result of COVID-19 according to WTTC’s baseline scenario; a figure which could
reach 197 million jobs before the end of the year.*

*Source: Report by Oliver Wyman on the Future of Travel & Tourism in the wake of Covid-19
THE PROBLEM
The Covid-19 imposed lockdown has affected the travel & tourism industry and particularly the hotel
business to a great extent. Prior to the lockdown, the industry seemed to be doing very well.Many
countries including India were promoting travel and tourism as it attracts locals, people from other state
and foreigners, there by generating revenue. Individuals as well as families found time and booked week
long vacations to visit places and stay in varieties of hotels.
This resulted in a surge of new travel destinations, monuments and near by hotels were developed.

Today, most companies have suffered a great loss and some have even closed down. Those surviving need
to revive their strategies in order to gear themselves up to maintain sustenance and reach profitability.

Now with the lockdown restrictions relaxed, people are traveling again. The vaccination announcement
has also brought in positive sentiment in the market as well as for the consumer. However, the pandemic
is not over. Safety continues to be a critical factor for travel, and it is essential that those in the business of
travel & tourism understand that.

A research study will help arrive at information that can help the companies arrive at information that can
help formulate their strategies.
OUR APPROACH
2021 will be a critical year for the recovery of the travel & tourism industry. If the next few months do not
help them come back up on their feet, some of the companies will not survive in a post pandemic world.

As a group of analysists, our attempt is to understand the travel needs of the consumers in the light of the
vaccination announcement. A quantitative survey to very specific questions will give us a starting point,
that can be fed to the industry. Our report aims to show the inclination and expectations of the consumers
as they decide to make travel plans between January – May 2021.

Based on our report, the industry players can come up with strategies to push the right kind of product,
service, destination and properties. This report will also give a starting point for communication that will
help attract customers and cater to their specific need.
METHODOLOGY
TRAVEL PREFERENCES POST VACCINATION
ANNOUNCEMENT
Research Design & Approach
• This applied research problem was to analyses the Indian traveller preferences and understand the
vacation preferences of people, post the Covid-19 vaccination announcement

• This is the first time in the modern era that man kind is facing a pandemic like Covid-19 therefore any
inferences from previous research or studies can be ruled out and hence an exploratory research design
method has been adopted

• Data has been collected via primary source through online surveys

• The survey design is both qualitative and quantitative (mixed method approach) and therefore survey
consists of multiple choice type questions and questions with 5-point Likert scale. Likert scale was
chosen as it provides greater granularity in measuring opinions, perceptions and behaviours for certain
sets of questions.
Sampling
• To draw a conclusion from the result and to get a close representation of the traveling group, a non-
probability convivences sampling have been chosen there by ensuring a good mix of data and samples
which are readily accessible

• This method is inexpensive and easy to gather the initial data as the respondents are readily available.
The tool used for data collection was an online survey tool

• The sample size was targeted to over 100 respondents, to individuals who are willing to travel within the
next six months and sampling unit was friends & families of the SP Jain Cohort (GEMBA02, GEMBA01).
The sampling had no restrictions on demographics, age & gender
Respondents
• As the sampling design was based on convenience
sampling, the target population of the survey RESPONSE RATE V/S AGE
consisted of friends & families of the group, aged 17 50
and above, living in India and willing to travel in the 40
next six months 40

NO OF RESPONDENTS
32
30
• As the age-wise spread was wider this helped us in
20
getting deeper insights on the travel preference 10 10
from each age group. While choosing the 10
4
7

respondents there were no restrictions placed on 0

demographics, age & gender, rather the focus was AGE GROUP
to get responses from people who are willing to 17-23 24-30 31-37 38-44 45-52 52 and above

travel both domestic and international destinations

in the next six months The following graph presents the age wise response rate
of the respondents. Total responses received was 103
Questionnaire Design

1 What age group do you belong to? 17-23, 24-30, 31-37, 38-44, 45-52, 52 and above

2 Are you planning a vacation/getaway in the next 6 months? Yes/No

Weekend Travel, Adventure Stay, Leisure Stay,

3 If Yes, then what type of vacation are you looking for?
Romantic Getaway, Family Trip
Beach/Mountain/City/Pilgrimage/Weekend
4 What will be your preferred location of travel?
Home

5 Will you be willing to travel outside India? Yes/No/May Be

6 What is your preferred mode of travel? Air/Sea/Personal Vehicle/Public Transport

7 Who are your preferred travel companions? Alone, Friends, Family, Tourist Group

8 During your vacation will you prefer a shared accommodation? Yes/No

Studio Apartment/Suite/Home stay/Hotel

9 If No, then what is your preference of stay?
Chains/Air B&B

10 Are you willing to pay for extra cleanliness and hygiene add-ons? (Yes/No) Yes/No

Will you be willing to choose a Hotel over other accommodation preferences if a Hotel
11 Yes/No
provides extra Cleanliness and Hygiene Add-ons?
Data Analysis Tools
• The data set was checked for outliers and missing data before analysis and no outliers
were found, as no values were found outside the calculated range

• The analysis of data was then done using statistical software tool SPSS

• Correlation, Independent sample & one sample t-test was conducted to test the
hypothesis
FINDINGS
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ANNOUNCEMENT
Survey Data – Vacation Preferences
There isn’t a significant difference in preference for vacation destination between the
two age groups.

AGE GROUP ‘24-30’ AGE GROUP ‘31-37’

Weekend Adventure Weekend
Travel Adventure
Holiday Travel
19% Holiday
20% 15%
22%

Romantic
GetAway
9%

Romantic
GetAway
20% Family Trip
22%

Leisure Stay
Family Trip
24%
30%
Leisure Stay
19%
Survey Data – Location Preferences
The age group of 31-37 is nominally more interested in visiting hill stations and
pilgrims as compare to the age group 24-30

Age Group ‘24-30’ Age Group ‘31-37’

Forest Safari 37 Forest Safari 44

Desert Safari 31 Desert Safari 34
Country-Side 44 Country-Side 40
Weekend Home 43 Weekend Home 24
Hill Stations 48 Hill Stations 52
City Tour 20 City Tour 29
Pilgrimage Visit 18 Pilgrimage Visit 24
Beach Locations 47 Beach Locations 45

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 0 10 20 30 40 50 60
Survey Data – Location Preferences
A little over half of the sample surveyed are certainly willing to travel internationally

Maybe
23%

Yes
51%

No
26%
Survey Data – Mode of transport
People have a much higher preference for air travel and personal vehicle. Rented
vehicle is a close third.
Survey Data – Air travel v/s Personal vehicle
People with personal vehicles have a nominally higher preference for hill stations,
while those wanting to travel by air prefer beach

PERSONAL VEHICLE PREFERRED

AIR TRAVEL PREFERRED
Beach
Forest Safari Forest Safari Locations
Hill Stations 13%
12% 15% 16%

Desert Safari Pilgrimage

Desert Safari 11% Visit
13%
8%
Beach
Locations
16%
City Tour
Country-Side 9%
14%
Country-Side
13%
City Tour
Weekend Pilgrimage 7%
Weekend Hill Stations
Home Visit
Home 17%
11% 13%
12%
Survey Data – Accommodation & Companion
While hotels are the most preferred for accommodation, there isn’t a significant
problem with any other types of accommodations either.
Moreover, people are comfortable taking a trip with their friends family or as a couple.
Group trips are a complete no.
Survey Data – Accommodation
While hotels are the most preferred for accommodation, there isn’t a significant
problem with any other types of accommodations either
Survey Data – Safety & Hygiene

Even though the pandemic hasn’t ended,

Maybe
only 63% people are willing to pay extra
18% for health and hygiene.

And with this it is safe to conclude that

the fear of the pandemic has settled, after
No
19% the announcement of the vaccination.
Yes
63%
Data analysis
Inferential statistics

• To further deep dive into the preferences based on age group, the
following Null Hypothesis is considered. The age group is divided into 2
groups i.e. Group1 - 37 and below, Group 2- 38 and above.
• Tool used: SPSS
• Test Used: Independent Sample T-test
• Null Hypothesis -The two groups have equal mean or the average
preferences of the location, travel companies, mode of travel and
accommodation are same
• Alternate Hypothesis- The two groups have equal mean or the average
preferences of the location, travel companies, mode of travel and
accommodation are different
Independent sample T-test on 2 ages groups and
preferred location

• Using the attached calculation, we can conclude that the test is statistically
significant for people travelling to hill stations

• The means for 2 groups for people preferring Hill station are statistically
different as the T-value (2.078) > 1.662 (critical value from student’s t-table)

• The people of age group 37 and below prefer Hill station as their vacation
destination in comparison to the others
Independent sample T-test on 2 ages groups and preferred
travel companion.

• Similarly, the analysis is statistically significant for people preferring friends

and family as travel companions
• The means for 2 groups for people prefer to travel with friends are
statistically different as the T-value (87.73) > 1.662 (critical value from
student’s t table)
• The people of age group 37 and below prefer to travel with their friends to
vacation destination in comparison to the others.
• The means for 2 groups for people prefer to travel with friends are
statistically different as the T-value (89) > 1.662 (critical value from student’s t
table)
• The people of age group 38 and above prefer to travel with their family to
vacation destination in comparison to the others
Independent sample T-test on 2 ages groups and
preferred mode of travel

• The means for 2 groups for people prefer to travel via rented
Vehicle are statistically different as the T-value (88.7) > 1.662 (critical
value from student’s t-table)
• The people of age group 37 and below prefer to travel via rented
car to vacation destination in comparison to the others
Independent sample T-test on 2 ages groups and
preferred accommodation

Since the analysis is not statistically significant, we cannot deduce

any conclusion for the population. More data could be required to
make it a statistically significant analysis.
Correlation Analysis-1

• The correlation analysis will enable us to determine if there is any relation

between Range of age group and Response to travel in next 6 months
• Null Hypothesis-There is no relationship between age group and their
preference to travel in next 6 months
• Alternate Hypothesis- There is relationship between age group and their
preference to travel in next 6 months
• Result- From the analysis test its not possible to extrapolate it to the
population as the analysis is not statistically significant
• However, for this particular sample, there is a negligible relation between
age group and their willingness to travel in next 6 months
Correlation Analysis-2

• The correlation analysis will help determines if there is any relation between
Range of age group and willingness to pay extra for hygiene add-ons
• Null Hypothesis-There is no relationship between age group and their
willingness to pay extra for hygiene add-ons
• Alternate Hypothesis- There is relationship between age group and their
willingness to pay extra for hygiene add-ons
• Result-There is negligible relation between the age of the people surveyed
and their willingness to pay extra for hygiene add-ons for the sample in
question
• As the result is not statistically significant, it cannot be extrapolated to the
population. More data could be required to conclude the analysis
One Sample T-Test
• To understand if average people could prefer to stay in hotel with
hygiene add-on and pay extra for the hygiene and cleanliness in the
hotels
• T-Test performed first to check individually if the average response is a
‘Yes’ for both the set of people
• Null hypothesis-There is no difference between the comparison value
(assumed mean) and the true mean(calculated mean)
• Alternate hypothesis- There is difference between the comparison value
and the true mean
• Result-We reject the Null hypothesis as there is a slight difference in the
mean values of both the group of people with 0.198 and 0.582 values (as
we had expected that the average response could be 1 or Yes as the
response for both the groups). Also the results are statistically significant
(P<0.001)
Conclusion

For the survey analysis which were not statistically significant more
data needs to be collected.

The statistically significant results can be used by the Travel agency to

formulate and implement new travel plans.

Microsoft
Word Document
IMPLICATIONS
TRAVEL PREFERENCES POST VACCINATION
ANNOUNCEMENT
Findings from other reports
The Coronavirus Travel
Sentiment Index
Study conducted by
Destination Analysis found
that nearly 70 percent of
Americans travelers have had
planned trips impacted by
the coronavirus situation, and
of those whose travel was
affected, about 30% reported
that government travel
restrictions were a reason.
Another 10 percent cited
COVID-related
business/employer-
mandated restrictions as a
travel disrupter.
A study my Mckinsey talks
about a slow recovery as
people will continue to
have concerns about
travel till the end of the
pandemic.
Observation & Conclusion

Most reports published across the world highlight the concern for travel,
uncertainty for the public and safety being a very high concern. They also
highlight the public’s lack of trust in air travel and hotel stays being safe.
Studies also show that domestic travel will pick up significantly higher as
compared to international travel.

However, the findings of our survey are contradictory.

Our sample set shows a high affinity for travel by air as well as a high trust in
hotel stays. Moreover, over half of the respondents are willing to travel
internationally and only a quarter have said No.
Moreover, close to half of the respondents are not certain on paying extra
for safety & hygiene.
Observation & Conclusion

This leads us to a conclusion that post the announcement of the vaccination

safety concerns of the public are relaxed.

However, in order to make this observation with complete certainty we will

need to ask the respondents their travel concerns before the announcement of
the vaccination. It will also be important to know that the change in sentiment
(if any), is a cause of the vaccination or the fatigue of the extended lockdown for
all of 2020. Gaining an understanding of the cost of safety & hygiene is also
important. A lower cost might mean more people will be willing to pay for it.

The current report will help a travel agency or any other organization that is
attracting tourists, to formulate a generic strategy that is not over indexed on
safety but is giving the assurance of a great experience.
However, in order to be sharper on communication, we will need to dig a little
deeper on motivations for the preferences that we have discovered.
THANK YOU.
REPORT SUBMITTED BY:
NATASHA BOHRA (EO19MUM016) | ABHIJIT PAUL (EJU20ONL44) |
SAMIR INAMDAR (EJU20ONL37) | TOM JOSE (EJU20ONL10) |
PAYAL BASAK (EJU20ONL05) | MIHIR BRAHME (EJU20ONL17)