62% people prefer hotels during holiday in country: Survey

An online survey has found that 62.2% hotel guests within the country at this time represent holiday and family travelers, while 31.1% are business travelers and the rest are there for work.

But 40% respondents do not consider staying in a hotel at all unless an effective vaccine is available in the market, according to a press release.

Some 28.9% people said they would consider staying in a hotel maybe in the next three months or so and 31.1% feel that they do not mind staying in hotels even now.

This was revealed in an online survey, conducted by premier travel and tourism publication The Bangladesh Monitor between October 1 and October 25 this year. Over 2,100 respondents from different genders, professions and ages participated in the survey.

Kazi Wahidul Alam, editor of The Bangladesh Monitor, disclosed the survey results at a webinar on Thursday, which was attended by leading hoteliers of the country, tour operators, and representatives from media, among others. Ram Chandra Das, chairman of the Bangladesh Parjatan Corporation, attended as chief guest of the event.

In Bangladesh, 71.1% people now prefer to stay in a hotel when they are traveling alone, while 24.4% want to do so with their relatives and the rest with their friends. But 44.4% of the hotel seekers would choose a budget hotel, 33.3% a 4 or 5-star hotel and the rest a boutique hotel.

Amid the ongoing pandemic, 40% respondents feel that health and hygiene protocols, maintained by the Bangladeshi hotels are not satisfactory, 37.8% consider those quite good, while 22.2% are not worried about it.

Answering a question about what are the main challenges for the hotels to get back their business, 46.7% respondents said they felt it is reduced confidence in travelling, while 27% think it is lack of foreign visitors, and the rest 26.3% think reduced economic activities in the country.

Some 53.4% people feel that offering promotional room rents and attractive perks could attract more guests to the hotels at this time, while 33.3% suggest that the hotels should adopt innovating business strategies. The remaining 13.3% think they should undertake extensive promotional campaigns.

Booking through Online Travel Agencies (OTA) is the preferred mode of booking hotel rooms in Bangladesh now, as 52.1% opted for this, while 42.7 % prefer to do so directly with the hotels and the rest through tour operators.