Emerging trends: Soaring travel costs and unvaccinated travellers
Countries have reopened borders to travellers eighteen months after the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic. A recent survey finds new and emerging travel patterns, with touring becoming more expensive as well as uncertain than ever before. It analysed a mine of data from more than 3,500 travellers who went abroad to get to know the definition of new travel norms amongst Americans.
Travel expenses escalated by a staggering $330 per trip due to the virus-related entry requirements, and so has the uncertainty, with 41% of travellers actively involved in travel communities related to their journeys.
Additionally, 58pc of American travelers were unvaccinated, with the most common destinations being Mexico (37pc), Greece (19pc), Dominican Republic (12pc), Bahamas (11pc), and Aruba (13pc), and Costa Rica (8pc).
Major Survey Results
58pc of Americans that traveled abroad this summer were not vaccinated. As countries reopened their borders, non-vaccinated travelers returned to the same travel patterns as before COVID-19.
Old travelers are on the rise with a quarter being 50+. Amongst other demographic shifts, 47pc of millennials refused to travel because of high costs, while 25pc were scared to travel with unvaccinated children.
Florida is the hub for unvaccinated travelers: 20pc of unvaccinated American travelers live in Florida. The top 4 U.S. states by active COVID-19 cases also led the pack for most outbound travel amongst unvaccinated Americans. Florida accounted for most outbound unvaccinated tourists, followed by Texas, New York, and California.
Traveling is inefficient: Each traveler spends more than 5 hours determining entry requirements and filling out paperwork. In addition, 23pc of travelers saying they contacted either their airline, hotel,” or travel platform to understand the entry requirements with airlines call waiting times running into hours.
The New Normal
This survey highlights the inefficient processes set in place by governments. While it’s understandable that requirements exist to keep COVID-19 at bay, countries must streamline the process. As countries look to revamp tourism, they underestimate the impact of fast, efficient systems and clear, easy-to-understand processes have.
Countries have introduced a range of requirements to enter, making it more expensive to travel than ever. On average, the extra cost adds up to $330 per traveler and constitutes COVID-19 visas, travel insurance, and COVID-19 tests. In addition, 79% of travelers expressed frustration at the lack of disclosure by hotels & airlines on the added costs of traveling, only to discover them much later when the cancellation was not an option.
A COVID-19 visa, also known as a health visa, is a new visa that travelers need to get. While they’re electronic, the approval is not instant. Authorities review each application; they can only be submitted a few days before the trip and are not free.
