As India takes a breather from the third Omicron wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, the travel and tourism industry is hoping to make some recovery in the upcoming holiday season. With no domestic travel restrictions, travellers across the country are planning to pack their bags for a much-needed break.

A survey of 20,000 people from 321 districts of India revealed that 59 percent of respondents, or 6 in 10 Indians, are planning to travel in the March-May period.

The survey was conducted by Local Circles, a social media platform. In its earlier survey in December, it was found that 58 percent of respondents planned to travel in the next three months. However, due to the surge in Omicron cases in India, most plans were cancelled or rescheduled. However, the latest survey has indicated a revival.

One third of the people planning to travel have already booked their tickets, stay, etc, the survey said. About half of these travellers are planning to visit their family/friends and 22 percent are planning holiday trips. The rest are going for miscellaneous travel.

The travel and tourism industry was among the worst affected by the pandemic. The drop in COVID-19 cases and ease in travel restriction will help the industry recover.

However, the virus is still around, and the Omicron BA.2 is found to be more transmissible that BA.1, which led the third wave in the country. Therefore, masks, social distancing and sanitisation are mandatory while travelling.

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(Edited by : Thomas Abraham)