UK travellers ready to take Covid-19 vaccine for trips abroad
Brits feel optimistic about taking a vaccine in order to travel in the future and 66 per cent would like travel insurance to cover their holidays
Brits, like many others, have missed out on a lot of travelling in 2020. Many people have had to put their holiday plans on hold during the Covid-19 outbreak, which has seen cities all over the world following strict lockdown precautions, and travel anxiety grow around the globe.
However, since the breakthrough vaccine results were announced in November, and with the subsequent roll-out of vaccinations, UK-based insurance aggregator Medical Travel Compared was eager to find out just how a vaccine might affect Brits’ attitude to post-Covid travel, and took the opportunity to survey more than 2,000 nationals in order to find out what they thought about the vaccine and travel in 2021.
A majority feels optimistic about taking a vaccine
The research revealed that the vast majority of respondents feel very optimistic about taking a vaccine as a prerequisite to travel, with 93 per cent indicating a positive response and only two per cent indicating that they would not be prepared to take the vaccine in order to travel. Further investigation discovered that, of those unwilling to take the vaccine, 35 per cent cited mistrust as their main reason for refusing it.
However, the positive sentiment about the vaccine and its implications for travel is astounding, with 70 per cent of respondents indicating they were more likely to start travelling abroad again once they had received the vaccine. Seventy-six per cent said that they would still go on holiday if they were required to take a Covid-19 test on arrival at their destination and 75 per cent said they would be willing to take the test upon departure.
Concern over travel insurance cover
Despite the positive sentiments expressed about the vaccine, the survey also revealed that 43 per cent of respondents still feel unsafe when it comes to travelling abroad. The most pressing issue of concern, shared by 66 per cent of respondents, is whether or not their travel insurance will cover Covid-19 should they contract the virus.
Tommy Lloyd, Managing Director at Medical Travel Compared, said: “It’s encouraging to see that with the rollout of the UK’s vaccine programme, confidence in travelling is set to return in a big way, with the majority of travellers intending to travel again once they have been vaccinated.”
Similar trends can be seen in the US, where, according to an Allianz Partners survey, progress with a Covid-19 vaccine could motivate American travellers to book their next trip.
This is great news for the travel industry and all the industries that rely on it. With traveller confidence rising due to the increasing availability of a vaccine, there is light at the end of the tunnel for the recovery of travel.