One-fifth of Americans under 35 years old do not plan to travel again until 2021—that’s according to research by Upgraded Points, which was conducted in late March. Nearly half at the time of conducting the study of 1,250 travelers said they planned to travel for non-essential, non-business reasons by June (that’s 14 percent in April, 13 percent for May and June each, and 7 percent had replied “within the next two weeks).
What’s of note, however, is that the 18- to 25-year-old group was more likely to travel sooner than the 26- to 34-year-old group. This could be a trend as age groups continue, although Upgraded Points did not provide research on Gen X, Baby Boomers or Matures. Among the younger group, April was the most common response (20 percent), while the older group was most in favor of 2021 (18 percent).
The largest concerns about travel were: Myself contracting COVID-19 (41 percent); myself spreading to friends/family as a result of contracting the virus (32 percent); myself unknowingly spreading COVID-19 to other travelers (17 percent); and being stuck somewhere as a result of quarantine (.2 percent). Ten percent said they didn’t have any concerns about traveling. Concern about contracting the virus increased among almost all age groups: 68 percent of respondents 65-plus years old said that contracting the virus was their biggest concern, which was nearly twice the rate of those aged 18 to 25 (37 percent).
The most important factor for Americans feeling comfortable travel again would be the government or health officials giving the “all clear” to travel again (51 percent). The second most popular response was “no new COVID-19 cases in the destination I’m heading to” at 27 percent.
This article originally appeared on www.travelagentcentral.com.
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