NEW YORK, Nov. 9, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- News about COVID
vaccines are promising, but most consumers surveyed are not
waiting for a vaccine to travel and an increasing number of
travelers say it OK to travel now according to a new report from
Oliver Wyman.
"Vaccines are important but personal judgement is still the
leading factor for deciding to travel, ahead of government
restrictions and advice from the World Health Organization," said
Bruce Spear, a partner with
Oliver Wyman. "This means the travel
industry must focus on measures that increase individual customer
safety such as mandatory masks, cleaning and rapid testing and not
wait for governments to issue directives."
The report, Anticipating the Travel Recovery, found several
other changes in traveler behavior since the first survey was
originally conducted in late April/early May. For
example:
- Leisure Travel -- Interest in leisure travel remains
strong and has grown since May, with 63 percent of respondents
expecting to travel the same amount or more post-pandemic. While
most travelers in the US, Spain,
Italy, China, and Australia are planning domestic trips,
travelers in Canada, UK,
France, and Germany are planning international locations
mostly in their home region for their next leisure trip post-COVID.
The number one driver for these leisure trips globally is to visit
friends and family. More than 55 percent of US respondents are more
likely to visit friends and family compared to before COVID,
showing pent up demand for Thanksgiving and holiday travel.
- Business Travel -- Forty-three percent of all
respondents who travel for business plan to travel less in
the future, a 16-point increase from May. Business travelers have
gotten more comfortable with teleconferencing, but only 53 percent
agree that they can develop new relationships via teleconferencing.
This drops to 47 percent for business travelers under 30. While
half of business travelers expect no change in trip duration, 30
percent expect to shorten their trips when possible, which will
impact hotel stays.
- Modes of Transport -- Overall respondents are
more comfortable with various transportation options than they were
in May. Half are now comfortable taking a flight and almost 60
percent are comfortable staying at a hotel. However, less than a
third are comfortable using public transportation or ride sharing.
In the US, over 40 percent of respondents are still uncomfortable
using public transportation or rideshare.
- Cruises – Back in May, the cruise industry was still
reeling from news of passengers quarantined at sea. Since then, the
gap between cruises and other experiences involving significant
interaction with others has closed. Respondents now feel as
comfortable taking a cruise as attending a convention or going to a
concert or sporting event. Past cruisers are more comfortable than
first timers.
Pandemic Travel
The survey also asked people about actual travel
they have done during the pandemic. Overall, 31 percent have
traveled by air and 24 percent by train (more than 2 hours) since
March. Sixty percent of these trips were primarily for
leisure.
Half of travelers (51 percent) were excited to travel; while
only a quarter reported being reluctant. Almost 80 percent of those
who traveled were satisfied with most components of their
experience including check-in, security, boarding process,
passenger and crew PPE. Travelers from the US and China had an average satisfaction rating of
over 80 percent across their journeys. Travelers were less
impressed with food and beverage and airport/station retail because
many of these amenities have been nearly eliminated.
Price remains the number one factor for consumer choice,
followed by cleaning policies and treatment of travelers. The
exception is in China, where
aircraft cleaning policies and treatment by the airline
outrank price. Travelers view cleaning and mask mandates as
the most important health and safety measures, but 40 percent would
still like to see an empty seat next to them on planes and
trains.
"As we continue to adjust to our new COVID reality, travel
providers will see a shift in their core customer base due to
reduced business demand," said Jessica
Stansbury, a partner with Oliver
Wyman. "Leisure travel will continue to drive the
recovery and addressing new customer expectations will be critical.
There is no wiggle room for travel companies when it comes to
defining, communicating and enforcing policies for cleanliness and
ensuring safety."
Methodology
Oliver
Wyman conducted its second global survey of travelers in
September and October to capture how views of travel are changing
as the COVID-19 pandemic evolves. The survey involved more than
4,600 people across nine countries (Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, Italy, Spain,
United Kingdom, United States), all of whom had flown at least
once in 2019. A third also have traveled by air and/or rail in the
past six months.
The complete Edition 2 survey report will be available in
November, with additional detail on the cruise industry and an
in-depth look at the pace at which traveler sentiments are shifting
and the potential structural impacts that may result from the
pandemic.
Our prior survey was conducted in April/May and those results
can be found here.
About Oliver
Wyman
Oliver Wyman is
a global leader in management consulting. With offices in 60 cities
across 29 countries, Oliver Wyman
combines deep industry knowledge with specialized expertise in
strategy, operations, risk management, and organization
transformation. The firm has more than 5,000 professionals around
the world who work with clients to optimize their business, improve
their operations and risk profile, and accelerate their
organizational performance to seize the most attractive
opportunities. Oliver Wyman is a
wholly owned subsidiary of Marsh & McLennan Companies [NYSE:
MMC]. For more information, visit www.oliverwyman.com. Follow
Oliver Wyman on Twitter
@OliverWyman.
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SOURCE Oliver Wyman