USA : Travellers don’t anticipate booking international travel until 2022

Travel Biz News / PRWeb —

Almost 80 per cent of Americans say they will not be traveling by airplane this holiday season, and 29 per cent believe they won’t book their next international trip until 2022.

These were findings from the 2020 Holiday and Virtual Travel Report released by Beeyonder, a virtual travel startup on a mission to foster memorable travel experiences for people with disabilities or conditions that prevent or inhibit their ability to travel.

The initial rollout of the COVID-19 vaccine in the U.S and select global countries has airlines and travel providers hopeful that consumers might be increasing confidence in traveling again in 2021.

However, despite a rising sense of optimism leading into the holidays that COVID-19 could be largely mitigated by the summer, caution persists amongst many Americans, with many reporting that they’ve turned to safer means of seeing the world as the virus continues to spread fears.

In fact, with 7-out-of-10 U.S. consumers saying they have increased anxiety around travel since the pandemic, 60 per cent  note they’ve either participated or considered a virtual travel experience.

With an absence of travelers, tourism boards, hotels, and destinations have turned to virtual technologies to engage would-be visitors and prepare them for a long road to recovery.

Additional highlights of Beeyonder’s 2020 Holiday & Virtual Travel Report include:

-70% of Americans report that their anxiety around traveling has increased somewhat since the pandemic began, and 40% admit that it has increased substantially.

-30% of respondents say flying is the facet of traveling that makes them feel most unsafe.

-As health officials hint at an end to the pandemic in 2021, 48% of Americans say that the fact that it’s cheaper to travel virtually than in-person would entice them to engage more in virtual travel experiences post-pandemic.

-44% added that they would be more likely to engage more in virtual travel post-pandemic for health and safety reasons, admitting that they would feel safer traveling virtually than in-person.

When asked which of the Seven Wonders of the World would they visit first through a virtual tour, there was a tight race between the Great Wall of China (21%) and the Taj Mahal (20%), as well as Machu Picchu and the Colosseum which both received 18% of the votes.

Additionally, over one-in-five respondents (21%) say that they’re definitely interested in taking a virtual travel experience with a family member or close friend who couldn’t travel due to illness, a condition, or a disability.

“There are 40 million-plus Americans that want to travel but can’t, or have limitations due to a disability or other condition,” said Brittany Palmer, CEO and founder of Beeyonder.

Dec 22 , 2020

Image courtesy : Seattle, Washington – Brand USA