As governments and the travel industry explore the benefits of digital health passports, the message from travelers is clear: Digital health passports can be a vital tool in opening up travel. A study, commissioned by Amadeus and delivered by Censuswide, found that just over 9 in 10 (91 percent) travelers would be comfortable using a digital health passport for future trips.
This encouraging research provides an incentive to accelerate plans for digital health passports that will help to address traveler concerns. The study provided further good news for the industry as just over two in five travelers (41 percent) said they would book international travel within six weeks of restrictions lifting, demonstrating that the appetite to travel remains high.
The survey of 9,055 travelers in France, Spain, Germany, India, United Arab Emirates, Russia, Singapore, the U.K. and United States also contained a note of caution for the industry with over 9 in 10 travelers (93 percent) having some concerns around how their health data for travel would be stored.
When asked about the receptiveness to storing and sharing digital health data, survey results show:
- Just under three-quarters (74 percent) of travelers surveyed would be willing to store their travel health data electronically if it enabled them to pass through the airport faster with fewer face-to-face interactions
- Over 7 in 10 (72 percent) travelers surveyed would be willing to store their travel health data electronically if it enabled them to travel to more destinations
- 68 percent of travelers agreed they would be more likely to share their health data if the airlines they most frequently travel with offered a way to store their travel health data
Although receptiveness to sharing data is high, the travel industry needs to consider traveler concerns around the use of data. The three main concerns travelers have are:
- Security risks with personal information being hacked (38 percent)
- Privacy concerns around what health information needs to be shared (35 percent)
- Lack of transparency and control over where the data is shared (30 percent)
The survey also explored what solutions might alleviate concerns around digital health data and travel in the future. Results showed:
- 42 percent of travelers said a travel app that could be used across the whole journey would greatly improve their overall travel experience and reassure them their information is all in one place
- 41 percent of travelers agree a travel app would reduce their stress around travel
- 62 percent of travelers would be more likely to use an app to store their health data if a travel company partnered with a trusted healthcare company
The research is the second in a series of traveler surveys, where Amadeus takes a regular checkpoint on traveler sentiment and concerns to help the industry rebuild travel in the most effective way. The "2020 Rethink Travel" 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. The 91 percent of travelers that now say technology will increase their confidence to travel is an increase from 84 percent in September 2020.
When asked which technology would increase confidence to travel in the next 12 months, mobile solutions were highlighted as a popular option, with the top three technologies including:
- Mobile applications that provide on-trip notifications and alerts (45 percent)
- Contactless mobile payments (e.g., Apple or Google Pay, Paypal, Venmo) (44 percent)
- Mobile boarding (e.g., having your boarding pass on your mobile phone) (43 percent)
Source: Amadeus
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