covid19 has affected nearly every aspect of our lives including travel as travellers start to rediscover the world again its not surprising that 86 per cent indian travellers are planning to take more health and safety related precautions when traveling in the future and 71 per cenr indians opting to avoid certain destinations altogether due to safety concerns as per a bookingcom report when compared with the global travel trend for avoiding destinations due to safety concerns india ranked second globally after thailandwith a shift in destination preferences transportation preferences have also changed 68 per cent of indians are likely to give public transportation a miss to avoid travelling with a large number of people due to the fear of contracting covid19 this is higher than the global average of 46 per cent instead travellers will choose to rent or drive their own car to and around their destination making 2021 the year of the road tripthe new normal will also see travellers prioritize and adhere to increased health and safety measures as 78 per cent indians are happy to travel to destinations where health spot checks on arrival are standard and 81 per cent indians dont mind travelling to a destination where its mandatory to wear a face mask in public unsurprisingly travellers will look to the travel industry for reassurance with 75 per cent indians expecting travel providers to clearly outline the safety precautions theyre taking and 48 per cent agreeing that a clear display of cleaning and hygiene policies is now a must havekeeping safety while travelling a priority 77 per cent of indian travellers will only book a particular accommodation if its clear what health and hygiene policies it has in place with 79 per cent favoring accommodations that have antibacterial and sanitising products the new normal will also see travellers prioritize and adhere to increased health and safety measures quarantine measures will remain less popular with only 51 per cent of indian travellers willing to accept these in order to travel to a particular destinationadditionally bookingcom has introduced its minimal cleanliness score commitment to support unique accommodation partners as they commit and work to improve and maintain their cleanliness score as determined by verified guest reviews from travellers who have booked and stayed at the property based on ongoing guest feedback only properties which live up to this cleanliness quality over time will remain available for guests to book ensuring peace of mind for travellers looking to travel safelycommenting on the findings of the research ritu mehrotra country manager india sri lanka and maldives at bookingcom said health and safety are top priority for travellers wanting to travel once again travellers are looking forward to new health and safety measures to avoid covid19 in response to a rise in demand from travellers bookingcom now enables properties to be able to easily display safety measures such as hygiene sanitisation social distancing on their property listings so travellers can have peace of mind when booking their