Travellers are showing a growing confidence in a return to air travel, frustration with current travel restrictions, and acceptance of a travel app to manage health credentials for travel, reveals a new poll by IATA.
While there is public support for travel restrictions, it is also becoming clear that people are feeling more comfortable with managing the risks of COVID-19, says the airline association, which conducted 4,700 online interviews of past travellers in 11 countries, including Canada, in mid-February.
The poll also revealed that people are feeling frustrated with the loss of freedom to travel, with 68% of respondents indicating their quality of life is suffering as a result. Nearly 40% of respondents reported mental stress and missing an important human moment as a result of travel restrictions. And over a third have said that restrictions prevent them from doing business normally.
On travel restrictions
• 88% believe that when opening borders, the right balance must be struck between managing COVID-19 risks and getting the economy going again
• 85% believe that governments should set COVID-19 targets (such as testing capacity or vaccine distribution) to re-open borders
• 84% believe that COVID-19 will not disappear, and we need to manage its risks while living and travelling normally
• 68% agreed that their quality of life has suffered with travel restrictions
• 49% believe that air travel restrictions have gone too far
“The top priority of everybody at the moment is staying safe amid the COVID-19 crisis. But it is important that we map a way to being able to re-open borders, manage risks and enable people to get on with their lives,” said Alexandre de Juniac, IATA’s Director General and CEO. “That includes the freedom to travel.”
He added, “It is becoming clear that we will need to learn to live and travel in a world that has COVID-19. Given the health, social and economic costs of travel restrictions, airlines should be ready to re-connect the world as soon as governments are able to re-open borders. That’s why a plan with measurable milestones is so critical. Without one, how can we be prepared for restart without an unnecessary delay?”
Future travel trends
• 57% expect to be travelling within two months of the pandemic being contained (compared to 49% in September 2020)
• 72% want to travel to see family and friends as soon as possible (Sept. – 63%)
• 81% believe that they will be more likely to travel once they are vaccinated
• 84% said they will not travel if there is a chance of quarantine at destination (largely unchanged from 83%)
• 56% believe that they will postpone travel until the economy stabilizes (down from 65%)
• 62% of respondents say they are likely to travel less for business even after the virus is contained (previous – 72%)
“People want to get back to travel, but quarantine is the showstopper,” observed said de Juniac. “As testing capacity and technology improves and the vaccinated population grows, the conditions for removing quarantine measures are being created. And this points us again towards working with governments for a well-planned re-opening as soon as conditions allow,”.
IATA Travel Pass
• 89% of respondents believe that governments need to standardize vaccine and testing certificates
• 80% are encouraged by the prospect of the IATA Travel Pass App and would use it as soon as available
• 78% will only use a travel credential app if they have full control over their data
IATA notes that travel health credentials are already opening borders to some countries and the association believes that such a system needs global standards and the highest level of data security.
To that end, de Juniac says, “We are designing IATA Travel Pass with the traveller in mind. Passengers keep all the data on their mobile devices, and they remain in full control of where that data goes. There is no central database. While we are making good progress with numerous trials, we are still awaiting the global standards for digital testing and vaccine certificates.”