Local tourism is going to be key, with signs that travellers are likely to exhibit more interest in exploring their immediate vicinity rather than a faraway locale. It is this segment that will drive the recovery of tourism. Across the board, there has been a spike in searches related to domestic tourism, including hotels. Much of the tourism we are going to see is going to be local or domestic, for obvious reasons relating to continued restrictions on air travel that are expected. While more than 40% of respondents said their next overseas trip is likely over a year away, and 60% said they will likely take fewer trips in the next 12 months than in the 12 gone by, 41% believe they will take the same number of trips or more in the coming 12 months. Clearly, lockdown may have locked people in their homes, but it wasn’t able to shut down their desire to travel. Interestingly, one in three said they were more likely to be watching videos of places they wanted to visit, and 18% said they were more likely to be watching travel-related shows and/ or documentaries than before. In April this year, when the lockdown was perhaps at its most stringent globally, two in three (68%) surveyed said they were still thinking about travel and where they would like to go next. Tripadvisor’s study provides interesting numbers. Only, there will be distinct shifts in preferences and choices. Rather, leisure travel will pick up pace, and tourism will rebound with renewed force. Research findings from leading travel portals such as Tripadvisor and indicate clearly that travel will not be limited to only the ‘essential’. Airlines parked their planes and a few travel apps decided to show solidarity by superimposing a surgical mask on their logos that appeared on users’ device screens.īeing confined indoors may have stopped people from going on holidays, but it hasn’t stopped us from contemplating the next big one. In no time, travel restrictions were everywhere. Dreamy destinations would often appear as one scrolled through any social media platform, and not anybody would have forecast that travel will halt in its tracks – almost in a flash. Only six months ago, it was prudent to plan a holiday and create lasting memories with family and friends.