This is likely only a short-term trend as most of those surveyed also indicated they would be more confident in booking a trip later in the year. Furthermore, many of the travellers indicated they’ll return to their pre-Covid travel preferences such as flying and staying in large hotels by early next year. The key findings from this year’s Future of Travel Survey are highlighted below:
Planned Travel in 2020: The survey asked travelers across the globe their thoughts on travel for this summer and moving forward into the fall and winter. The findings show that Covid-19 has not stopped travelers but caused short term changes in their trip preferences, with most preferring trips that are closer to home this year.
Covid Concerns & Risk Mitigation : Unsurprisingly, Covid-19 is the main fear for all travelers surveyed but we asked respondents their thoughts on what risk mitigation measures they plan to take themselves and what Covid-19 concerns need to be addressed before they begin travelling.
Mode of Transportation Comparisons: While the majority of global travelers are opting to take their car this summer, travel by plane is still the second choice for global travelers.
Destination Comparisons: Most travelers indicated that they’ll be travelling locally this summer, but they are eager to travel internationally in 2021.
Trip Protection: In the wake of the current pandemic, it’s no surprise that most travelers are concerned about getting protection for their next trip.
Francine Abgrall, Head of Travel at Europ Assistance Group: “Our annual Holiday Barometer, which would have had its twenty-year anniversary this year, was a way for us to share the latest travel preferences held by travelers around the globe. This is why this year we worked with Ipsos on a survey that looks at the future of travel to see how much those preferences have changed or remained same. While many preferences were in line with current sentiments on social distancing (smaller accommodations) and the avoidance of crowds (minimal use of public transport), we noticed that respondents indicated they would be comfortable going back to their pre-Covid travel preferences when asked about their travel plans for 2021. Though there is still a lot of uncertainty, the results of the survey were positive with more than half of the respondents indicating they would be taking a holiday in 2020 signaling a strong rebound for the industry in the medium and long term.”
Online survey conducted by Ipsos at the request of Europ Assistance among 11,000 individuals (nationally representative samples of 1,000 people per country) in Europe (France, Germany, Austria, Belgium, Spain, Italy, Poland and the UK), in Asia (China and Thailand) and in the USA . This survey is an updated version of the annual Europ Assistance & Ipsos Holiday Barometer, which was getting underway when the general lock-down began. The goal of this survey is to ascertain how the Covid-19 epidemic has altered holidaymakers’ travel plans and aspirations, in order to assist the various players in the tourism sector in preparing for the “post-Covid world”.