Travelers willing to be screened and share medical history post pandemic
Travelers grounded due to the pandemic are willing to share personal medical history to reduce the risk of a renewed spread of coronavirus as a condition of restarting travel.
A survey by Global Rescue, a travel risk and crisis response provider, found travellers were now willing to take several measures they would have previously found objectionable.
"Many travelers are planning to hit the road again this summer and they are willing to share personal medical history and travel plans to help keep themselves and those around them safe," said Global Rescue CEO Dan Richards.
Based on 1,300 responses collected from its members on April 23-24, including government agencies, corporates, universities, nonprofits and tour operators, the company’s survey found:
– 91% are willing to subject themselves to screening and testing
– 73% are willing to disclose medical conditions related to a compromised immune system
– 93% are willing to share their past 14-day travel history
– 58% are willing to have their physical location tracked and traced with data temporarily retained.
The survey also asked travelers when they expect to be travelling again. It found:
– 77% are expecting to make a trip by the end of October
– 41% expect to make their next trip by July or earlier
– 36% are planning their initial trip sometime between August and October
– less than 9% believe their earliest post-pandemic trip will be during the holiday months of November and December
– less than 7% expect to make their first trip sometime between January and March 2021
– 7% predict their next trip won’t be until sometime after April 2021.
When asked for the reason for their first trip, domestic trips were favoured by a two-to one margin. The survey also found:
– 75% of initial trips are expected to be family vacations, leisure trips to visit friends, or destination getaways
– less than 10% expect their first trips to be for business only
– 15% say their initial travel plans will be for both business and pleasure.
And when asked about trips booked during the global travel restrictions, the survery found:
– more than 42% reported they were forced to cancel their travel plans, 16% said they voluntarily abandoned trips and 27% postponed their trips
– nearly 60% who canceled or postponed travel expect to book another trip as soon as they feel safe
– 13% report they will reserve another trip to take advantage of travel discounts and deals
– less than 1.5% plan to spend their money on other things unrelated to travel.
Bev
Editor in chief Bev Fearis has been a travel journalist for 25 years. She started her career at Travel Weekly, where she became deputy news editor, before joining Business Traveller as deputy editor and launching the magazine’s website. She has also written travel features, news and expert comment for the Guardian, Observer, Times, Telegraph, Boundless and other consumer titles and was named one of the top 50 UK travel journalists by the Press Gazette.
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