Stats: 77% of Travelers Want to Travel in the Next Year

A new traveler research commissioned by Amadeus reveals that 77 percent of travelers want to travel in the next year, with Europe reigning as top destination. The survey of 9,074 consumers across France, Germany, India, Spain, Russia, Singapore, the UAE, the UK, and the U.S. revealed that greater clarity on restrictions and guidelines will be key to unlocking increased traveler confidence. Over a third (35 percent) of travelers said the current international guidelines around where and how to travel are confusing, making them less likely to book business and/or leisure travel.

At the same time, travelers are exhibiting increased openness to embrace technology and a willingness to share health data so they can start traveling again.

When asked about the receptiveness to share personal health data, the survey revealed that 93 percent of travelers would be willing to provide personal data for the effective use of digital health passports or certificates, a slight increase from 91 percent in February 2021. Almost half (48 percent) of business travelers would be willing to provide their health data to visit a conference or event, while 36 percent of leisure travelers would be willing to for an excursion or activity at destination.

When asked which technology would increase confidence to travel in the next 12 months, mobile solutions continue to be the most popular, with the top technologies including mobile applications that provide on-trip notifications and alerts (44 percent), self-service check-in (41 percent), contactless mobile payments (e.g., Apple or Google Pay, Paypal, Venmo) (41 percent) and automated and flexible cancellation policies (40 percent).

Mobile applications and contactless technology have remained top technologies across all three studies, with the addition of automated and flexible cancellation policies in this final instalment.

The research is the third in a series of traveler sentiment surveys, where Amadeus takes a regular checkpoint on traveler sentiment and concerns to help the industry rebuild travel in the most effective way. Both the 2020 Rethink Travel survey (September 2020) and Rebuild Travel Digital Health (February 2021) survey revealed how technology can help to increase traveler confidence and Amadeus revisited this question to see how traveler confidence has changed since September 2020.

Ninety-seven percent of travelers now say that technology will increase their confidence to travel, up from 91 percent in February 2021 and 84 percent in September 2020, showing a growing sense of traveler confidence in technology.

When considering the future of travel and sustainability, the survey highlighted what solutions travelers believe might help the industry to become more sustainable long-term. Nearly half (46 percent) of travelers said greater availability of green modes of transport, e.g., electric planes or trains. A similar percentage (44 percent) believe making sustainable travel more cost effective would be beneficial, while 41 percent said transparency around travel companies’ sustainability policies would help.

Although receptiveness to travel in the next year is high, the travel industry needs to consider how to respond to changing traveler concerns as the travel environment continues to adapt. The three main concerns travelers have are fears of catching COVID-19 while traveling (41 percent); self-isolation or quarantine before and after travel (41 percent) and changing restrictions resulting in last minute cancellations (37 percent).

In comparison to the previous studies, fears of catching the virus maintain a top concern for travelers, alongside self-isolation, or quarantine.

To learn more about the results of the survey, read the global report at https://amadeus.com/en/insights/themes/rebuild-travel

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