The survey of 9,074 consumers across France, Germany, India, Spain, Russia, Singapore, the UAE, the UK, and the US shows the appetite to travel is high. At the same time, it reveals that greater clarity on restrictions and guidelines will be key to unlocking increased traveler confidence. Over a third (35%) of travelers said the current international guidelines around where and how to travel are confusing, making them less likely to book business and/or leisure travel. In Asia Pacific (APAC), 37% of travelers in India and 40% of those in Singapore shared the same sentiment.
At the same time, travelers are exhibiting increased openness to embrace technology and a willingness to share health data so they can start traveling again.
When asked about the receptiveness to share personal health data, the survey results show:
• 93% of travelers globally would be willing to provide personal data for the effective use of digital health passports or certificates, a slight increase from 91% in February 2021. In both India and Singapore, the figure was slightly higher than the global average at 95%.
• Almost half (48%) of business travelers worldwide would be willing to provide their health data to visit a conference or event, compared to 53% in India and 54% in Singapore. Meanwhile 36% of leisure travelers would be willing to share such information for an excursion or activity at destination, versus 35% and 38% of Indian and Singaporean leisure travelers respectively.
When asked which technology would increase confidence to travel in the next 12 months, mobile solutions continue to be the most popular, with the top technologies including:
• Mobile applications that provide on-trip notifications and alerts (44%) (India: 55%; Singapore: 45%)
• Self-service check-in (41%) (India: 49%; Singapore: 53%)
• Contactless mobile payments (e.g., Apple or Google Pay, Paypal, Venmo) (41%) (India: 47%; Singapore: 47%)
• Automated and flexible cancellation policies (40%) (India: 42%; Singapore: 45%)
Mobile applications and contactless technology have remained top technologies across all three studies, with the addition of automated and flexible cancellation policies in this final instalment.
Mani Ganeshan, APAC R&D Head, Amadeus Labs, India, says, “While there is much pent-up demand for travel, some of the challenges caused by COVID-19 continue to exist. Digital health verification is important to increase traveler confidence and enable smoother travel experiences. Innovations like digital health passports need to be fully integrated into airline, airport and immigration systems to reduce customer pain points along the journey. Amadeus continues to advocate for closer collaboration between stakeholders across the industry including, airlines, hotels, technology providers and governments, to expedite the industry’s recovery.”
Decius Valmorbida, President, Travel, Amadeus, says, “The travel industry still faces many challenges in light of COVID-19, but we are seeing positive steps taken as restrictions lift and developments in digital health certificates continue around the world. This research demonstrates the appetite to travel continues to grow, and that travelers are looking forward to advancements in areas such as touchless technology, digital health and sustainable travel. Now is the time to listen even more closely to travelers’ needs so we can rebuild our industry in a way that is more traveler focused, resilient and sustainable.”
Francisco Pérez-Lozao Rüter, President, Hospitality, Amadeus, comments, “This three-part series of research has highlighted the essential role that both technology and data have to play in the recovery of our industry and increasing traveler confidence. In hospitality specifically we are seeing how our hotel customers are implementing solutions that complement and streamline experiences without losing the human touch while using data to better prepare for guest demands. At Amadeus we are committed to rebuilding a better industry and working closely with our customers to provide the tools to achieve this.”
