Travelers, particularly in the U.S., are becoming more comfortable booking trips and hotels, but they are increasingly concerned about the travel behaviors of others — including the safety precautions taken and not taken.
STR, CoStar's hospitality analytics firm, conducted a survey in July of more than 1,700 travelers — in the U.S., North America and the United Kingdom — all of whom had taken a trip in 2019. Among those surveyed in North America, 73% have booked or taken a trip in 2021. In the United Kingdom sample, that percentage was 75%.
"The U.K. was locked down until the end of the spring. And yet, by the end of July, two-thirds had booked and/or taken a trip. ... So once they were able to travel, they were out," said Chris Klauda, senior director of market insights at STR, while presenting the survey findings during the recent Hotel Data Conference in Nashville.
That survey data points to increasing traveler confidence, but the COVID-19 pandemic continues to have an influence on travel decisions, she said.
Among travelers surveyed in North America, 69% said COVID-19 is influencing their decision whether to travel. That percentage was higher among Canadians, 84% of whom said the pandemic is a factor — compared to 57% of U.S. travelers surveyed.
In total, 67% of the surveyed travelers said that COVID-19 is "very much an influence" on travel decisions. When the same question was asked in a February 2021 survey, that percentage was about 80%.
"We're getting better," Klauda said. "Unfortunately, it feels in the past couple of weeks like we've gone a bit backwards, and I think COVID is going to be influencing us for quite some time in terms of travel."
More than half of the surveyed travelers also said COVID-19 vaccination proof should be required for travel — 51% strongly agreed and another 20% leaned toward vaccination requirements for travelers.
Most were also "concerned that other travelers won't respect social/physical distancing," with 39% strongly agreeing and another 30% agreeing.
"It's kind of remarkable that now we have to deal with guests who are afraid of other guests, but it emphasizes the communication and making the guests feel comfortable at your hotels or at your destination," Klauda said.
Even as travelers become more comfortable making travel plans, they are reluctant to travel as much as they did before the pandemic, especially on international trips.
The study shows 38% of surveyed travelers are less likely to travel domestically, while 63% are less likely to travel internationally.
The outlook for business travel is similar, with 39% saying they are less likely to travel for business after the pandemic is over. The net propensity for business travel, according to the survey, is down 19% in the U.S., down 30% in Canada and down 44% in the U.K.
"It's a pretty gloomy picture in terms of anyone feeling like they're gonna be traveling for business, once the pandemic is over, at the same levels that they were pre-pandemic," Klauda said. "I think it's a little too early for people to really know what business travel is going to look like."