The overwhelming majority of UK travellers and overseas arrivals to Britain rate Covid-19 tests for travellers important despite concerns about the costs of testing.
That is according to UK Office for National Statistics (ONS) research in June which found 85% of returning UK travellers and 93% of overseas visitors rate Covid tests important.
More than half – 52% of UK travellers and 64% of those from overseas – rated tests ‘very important’.
However, the proportion of UK travellers rating tests ‘very important’ was down from 73% in February.
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Rates of vaccination among UK travellers and overseas visitors were almost identical, the ONS found, with 62% of both groups having received at least one dose of a vaccine by June.
The research did not differentiate between respondents having received a jab and those fully vaccinated.
Rates of vaccination among overseas visitors exceeded those among UK travellers in every month from February until June, despite rates of vaccination in most countries lagging behind the UK during this period.
The ONS found fewer than half the UK adults aged under-35 who travelled in June had received a vaccine dose. Just 30% of those aged 16-24 and 44% of 25-34-year-old UK travellers had done so.
It noted: “In June, the proportions of UK residents and overseas residents who thought Covid-19 testing was ‘very important’ for safety was less than the proportions who said they felt safe on their journey because of social distancing, wearing face coverings, and availability of hand sanitiser. This is the first month this has occurred.
“However, the increase in the proportion who said testing was ‘quite important’ means Covid-19 testing remains ‘important’ for the majority of travellers.”
The ONS did not provide details on the number of UK and overseas respondents sampled each month but 17,720 took part in the survey from February to June, suggesting the June figures reflect the responses of about 3,500 UK and overseas respondents.
The research was conducted part of the ONS’s rolling International Passenger Survey of arrivals to the UK.
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