Almost 70 per cent of global consumers plan to travel domestically within the next six months, yet less than 10 per cent have booked their trips, according to a new ‘Traveller Sentiment Survey’ released by Oliver Wyman.
The summer travel surge is just the beginning of a recovery that seemed almost impossible a little more than a year ago. We expect to see a continued desire for leisure travel through the end of the year and travel providers should anticipate a sustained leisure recovery with strong bookings continuing at least through the end of the year.
The travel industry continues to be a part of the diversification strategy for governments in the Middle East region and in the UAE in particular. There will be an even greater level of leisure and business travel due to major events and exhibitions like Dubai Expo 2020, the Dubai Airshow and ADIPEC being hosted.
The survey findings revealed that for leisure travel, 76 per cent of respondents expect to travel the same or more post-COVID for leisure. Traffic out of US airports will match and may even exceed the rate of pre-pandemic travel sometime in early 2022. International leisure travel continues to be the most impacted by the pandemic, as most travellers opt to stay closer to home. The Chinese (81 per cent), United States (67 per cent) and Australian (62 per cent) travellers will prefer to travel domestically when restrictions are lifted. Whereas Canadians (54 per cent) and most Europeans will favour international trips, mostly short hall.
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