The hunger for travel is increasing across nine countries, according to a survey commissioned by Amadeus, and major issues holding back this explosion in demand is the lack of clarity on travel restrictions, uncertainty in Covid-19.
More than 77% of travellers want to travel in the next year, with 50% indicating business travel plans. Singaporean travellers surveyed are most likely to travel within Asia (excluding the Middle East) for business (45%) or leisure (55%) in the next year.
Gen-Z respondents are the most likely to travel to Asia, North America, Latin America, Australasia, and the Middle East for leisure in the next year, but bucking this trend is the Baby Boomer generation who are the most likely to expect to travel to Europe for leisure in the next year. Overall, Baby Boomers surveyed are the most likely to travel and hope to do so in the next year (84%), followed by Gen X (78%), Millennials (77%) and Gen Z (72%).
And more than 35% of travellers said the current international guidelines around where and how to travel are confusing, making them less likely to book business and/or leisure travel. In Asia Pacific, 37% of travellers in India and 40% of those in Singapore shared the same sentiment.
As a result of this pent-up desire to travel, travellers are demonstrating a willingness to share personal health data and to utilise technology in order to facilitate travel.
93% of travellers globally would be willing to provide personal data for the effective use of digital health passports or certificates, a slight increase from 91% in February 2021. In both India and Singapore, the figure was slightly higher than the global average at 95%.
Top technologies that appear to gain the confidence of travellers are:
● Mobile applications that provide on‐trip notifications and alerts (44%) (India: 55%; Singapore: 45%)
● Self‐service check‐in (41%) (India: 49%; Singapore: 53%)
● Contactless mobile payments (e.g., Apple or Google Pay, Paypal, Venmo) (41%) (India: 47%; Singapore: 47%)
● Automated and flexible cancellation policies (40%) (India: 42%; Singapore: 45%)
Although receptiveness to travel in the next year is high, traveller concerns also reflect: fear of catching Covid‐19 while travelling (41%); self‐isolation or quarantine before and after travel (41%); and changing restrictions resulting in last-minute cancellations (37%). In Asia Pacific, the fear of catching Covid-19 is a top concern, with 54% for travellers in both India and Singapore.
“This research demonstrates the appetite to travel continues to grow, and that travellers are looking forward to advancements in areas such as touchless technology, digital health and sustainable travel. Now is the time to listen even more closely to travellers’ needs so we can rebuild our industry in a way that is more traveller-focused, resilient and sustainable,” said Decius Valmorbida, president, Travel, Amadeus.
To learn more about the results of the survey, read the global report here.