Saniya Zanpure travel tips

Luxury travel is no longer confined to high-end shopping sprees, spa days, lavish dining, and multiple opportunities to splurge. 

2024 marks a new era for the travel industry beyond the depths of Covid-19 and the volatility of the post-pandemic world. Skift Research’s State of Travel 2024 brings you 350+ insights into the current state of travel, consumer behavior, and sector-specific trends.

In this episode of the Skift India Travel Podcast, Asia Editor Peden Doma Bhutia is joined by Saniya Zanpure, research analyst at Skift, to explore India’s inbound tourism landscape. Last month, the Indian government announced initiatives aimed at boosting tourism, including offering 100,000 free visas. Despite surging outbound travel, inbound recovery has been slower, making these measures critical. Catch them discuss factors behind this disparity, such as safety concerns, visa issues, and infrastructure challenges, as well as untapped opportunities to enhance India’s appeal.    

Despite looming recession fears, the travel industry continues to demonstrate strong growth, according to the Skift Travel Health Index for August 2024. The index showed a 9% increase from a year ago, led by the Asia Pacific region (up 13%) and North America (up 8%).

The Skift Travel Health Index has continued to trend upward: The latest reading of 104 indicates 4% growth over July 2023. Countries in the Asia Pacific dominate and China showed the biggest jump – 21% above a year ago.

Catch Asia Editor Peden Doma Bhutia in conversation with Saniya Zanpure, Skift’s research analyst, as they dive into the Skift Travel Health Index (STHI) — a tool that tracks and measures the performance of various travel sectors. They explore why the travel industry in 2024 is mirroring 2023, with insights into the factors driving this stability. Plus, they look at India’s rise as a major player in global travel and find out what’s fueling this rapid growth.

As the summer travel heats up, a surprising trend is emerging: Russia is experiencing a tourism uptick, according to the latest Skift Travel Health Index for June 2024. Despite the ongoing war, tourism performance in the country in June 2024 witnessed a 12 percentage point surge over May 2024. The index is at 103, which indicates a 3% rise above June 2023.

Europe’s short-term rental market is booming this summer, defying stricter regulations aimed at curbing its rapid growth. Even with licensing hurdles in many countries, the market in Europe is thriving. 

In May 2024, the travel industry reached 103, marking a 3% rise over last year, according the latest Skift Travel Health Index: May 2024 Highlights. This highlights a transition from the post-pandemic recovery phase to moderate and sustainable growth levels in 2024.

The Skift Travel Health Index, boosted by the spring travel season, gained 3 percentage points to reach 108 in April 2024. This represented an 8% surge over last year.

Think vacation rentals are in for a big slowdown? Think again. Social media buzz of frustrated consumers sharing bad vacation-rental experiences paints a bleak picture. But Skift Research’s latest report, ‘Debunking the Myth of Vacation Rental Consumer Fatigue,’ reveals a more optimistic outlook.

Skift Research’s latest reading on the Skift Travel Health Index reveals a softening trend in global travel. This is due to the seasonality of demand: Our index dropped 4 percentage points to 105 in March 2024, which mirrors a slowdown we saw this time last year.

The travel industry continued to strengthen in February: The Skift Travel Health Index stood at 107, 7% growth over February 2023.

In a country known for tradition, India’s travel industry is undergoing a rapid transition. The younger population and a rising use of smartphones is reshaping India’s traditional travel booking landscape.

The Skift Travel Health Index is transitioning to a new benchmark. For the past few years, we’ve been judging the travel industry’s performance against 2019, the last good year for travel before Covid hit.

Our latest Skift Travel Health Index, shows that the global Travel Health Index stood at 102 in December 2023, capping a big year for the global travel industry.

Taylor Swift’s multi-continent Eras Tour is on its way to becoming the highest-grossing musical tour of all time. The “Swiftie” impact is not confined to music charts, but has also extended to the travel industry. While the travel sector is still adjusting to the aftermath of the pandemic, the Eras Tour has proved a boon for all the destinations it has graced this year.

The Skift Travel Health Index: October 2023 Highlights report shows a slowing trend in global travel momentum as the index dipped 2 percentage points and stands at 103.

The global travel industry is on an upswing, with all regions registering growth over the previous month, according to the Skift Travel Health Index: September 2023 Highlights. The Skift Travel Health Index stands at 106, three points higher than August 2023 – a new record high.

The pandemic sped up the transition towards digital and alternative payment methods. Non-cash transaction volumes are projected to surge to $2.3 trillion by 2027, and it has become essential for hoteliers to embrace a variety of payment options to enhance guest satisfaction. To do so, they should consider adopting modern fintech systems and establishing partnerships with leading payment processors.

The Skift Travel Health Index: August 2023 Highlights shows a 1 percentage point uptick for August 2023. The index now stands at 103, compared to a baseline of 100 in August 2019.