Travellers to stay close to home this summer

The survey asked travellers from 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 travellers, though it has driven short-term changes in their trip preferences, with most preferring trips that are closer to home this year. The overwhelming majority (81 per cent) of those surveyed indicated they would be interested in taking a trip in 2020; however, only 35 per cent of respondents from the 11 countries claimed to have already booked for the months of July and August or said they were planning to do so.

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 would return to their pre-Covid travel preferences such as flying and staying in large hotels by early next year.

Further findings showed that the average budget for a trip among global respondents is €1,506, with 34 per cent indicating they’ll be taking a relaxing weeklong vacation at a beach destination for their post-lockdown trip this summer. Seventy-four per cent of global respondents indicated they will be travelling by car (either rented or personal) to their summer destination and 33 per cent of global respondents are choosing to stay in private rentals or in small hotels, most likely in an attempt to maintain social distancing and avoid large crowds.

Francine Abgrall, Head of Travel at Europ Assistance Group, commented: “Our annual Holiday Barometer, which would have had its 20-year anniversary this year, was a way for us to share the latest travel preferences held by travellers 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 the 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, signalling a strong rebound for the industry in the medium- and long-term.”

This should hopefully be good news for the industry, with people planning a return to normal habits by next year and booking small holidays for this summer.