Almost nine out of 10 travel consumers would support mandatory Covid ‘passports’ for international travel, according to a survey across 19 countries released today.
The survey of 9,650 respondents by business consultancy Accenture found 87% support the use of Covid passports for international travel.
Three out of five (60%) would also support Covid-status certification for domestic travel.
A similar proportion, 58%, said they plan a trip in the next six months, but half the respondents (53%) expect to spend less on travel in the next six months than pre-pandemic.
Two out of five (41%) said they would make ‘a significant change’ in how they travel beyond that period.
One in four respondents (24%) said travelling or going on holiday is what they are most excited about post-pandemic.
But almost half (46%) said they have no business travel plans post-pandemic or intend to cut their previous business travel by half.
Four out of five (79%) said they want to work from a ‘third space’ – a location other than their home or workplace – a trend Accenture suggests could provide hotels with alternative revenue.
Two-thirds of respondents (66%) said awareness of their physical and mental health was the most significant lifestyle change they have made during the pandemic.
Accenture suggests the Covid-19 pandemic has caused a shift in priorities for travel consumers and concludes: “Airlines and hospitality businesses will have to adapt to a consumer with a new set of priorities around health, ethical awareness, local consumption and digital tools.
“The industry will need to adapt to target the ‘post-Covid customer’ who is more mindful of wellness, localness and sustainability in their travel, as well as hyper-aware of health and safety measures.”
Accenture managing director Jonathan Sullivan said “There are steps travel companies can take to make sure they are in the best position to capitalise on the global pent-up demand when travel is re-opened.
“Travel and hospitality businesses should look to target the early ‘inspiration phase’ of the customer journey, which can be done successfully through social media.
“Ensuring the customer experience lives up to the brand promise will be vital.”
Emily Weiss, Accenture global travel industry lead, said: “The pandemic has forced ‘creative pragmatism’ [on] travel and hospitality firms grappling to find additional revenue streams during the crisis.
“Some hotels turned rooms into pop-up restaurants while others experimented with offering temporary office space to customers.”
Weiss argued: “While there has been experimentation with innovation in pockets, companies need to scale these new services and address travellers’ renewed focus on health and safety, for example, using the cloud to help enable fully contactless interactions.”
The survey of 9,653 respondents in 19 countries was conducted on February 25 to March 5. It involved consumers in Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the UAE, UK and US.