Travel confidence among travellers in Asia Pacific rising

New Delhi: For the most part, residents of Asia-Pacific can travel again. However, some are more confident about packing their bags than others. Travel confidence is "diverse and nuanced" in the region, according to a new survey commissioned by the travel website Booking.com.
Some 11,000 people in the region were polled about their comfort levels and concerns, as well as their willingness to tolerate the types of disruptions that have become common since the pandemic began. 
The survey results were published in Booking.com's inaugural "Travel Confidence Index," which ranked the places in order of most to least confident.
Key findings from the study include:
India
According to the survey, Indians emerged as having the highest travel confidence. Some 86 per cent of respondents indicated plans to travel within 12 months - a number surpassed only by those in China - though trips in both countries are expected to be largely domestic.
Moreover, 70 per cent of respondents indicated they would accept anticipated travel disruptions, the highest of the survey.
Indians have faith in their country too - 85 per cent indicated India can safely welcome international travellers back, higher than the region's average of 51 per cent.
Vietnam
The Vietnamese are also confident to travel again, according to the survey, driven by their comfort with regional borders opening again (82 per cent) and confidence in Vietnam's ability to receive travellers again (75 per cent).
Rising prices may be taking a toll, however. Of all those polled, the Vietnamese were the most concerned about costs (53 per cent).
China
Nearly 90 per cent of Chinese respondents said they plan to travel in the next year, the highest of all polled territories.
Moreover, 62 per cent said they plan to travel overseas "immediately" after China lifts its quarantine policy. Of those, 43 per cent plan to go to either Japan or South Korea, according to the survey.
Of all those polled, the Chinese are the least concerned about costs (20 per cent) but the most concerned about administrative hassles involved in planning trips this year (46 per cent).
New Zealand
Nearly 80 per cent of Kiwis say they are likely to travel in the next year, with the biggest motivator being to visit family (53 per cent), according to the survey.
However, only 49 per cent of Kiwi respondents said they consider leisure travel to be important during the pandemic - 5 percentage points fewer than the regional average.
Australia
Compared with the regional average, Australians are slightly less likely to travel than others in the Asia-Pacific (72 per cent versus 76 per cent). Australians, as well as Kiwis, are also much less willing to share their personal information for the purpose of travel, compared with the rest of the region.
Slightly more than half of Australians expressed comfort in the idea of travel restarting (55 per cent) and in Australia's ability to safely receive international travellers again (53 per cent), according to the survey.