Travel Safety Barometer Reveals Confidence Is Growing

In Wave 5 of its Travel Safety Barometer report, MMGY Global found that travellers perceptions of safety are rising across all sectors, from domestic and international travel to lodging, cruising, dining & entertainment, transportation and business travel.

MMGY Global’s Travel Safety Barometer measures American travellers’ perceptions of how safe it is to engage in specific travel behaviours on a scale of 0 (Extremely Unsafe) to 100 (Extremely Safe).

With all states in the U.S. currently in some phase of reopening and international destinations also reopening, it appears to be having a positive impact on how U.S. travellers feel.

Confidence in the safety of domestic travel overall experienced a 10 point jump, scoring just 34 in May and rising to 44 in June.

International travel experienced a similar 10 point increase, but its overall score is still relatively low at 32.

And transportation is on an upswing, with the Transportation Safety Barometer going from 56 to 60.

The tracking study reports that while most respondents still believe travelling by car is the safest form of travel (score of 74), travellers are beginning to report an elevated sense of safety when travelling by other forms of transportation, including domestic air travel and even by train. Respondents ranked the safety of domestic travel at 36 points in Wave 5.

However, it also notes that business travel is likely to be hindered by several factors in the months and years ahead

While improved technology, the popularity of video conferencing platforms and the complexities of attending a crowded conference may have corporate travellers reconsidering the need to travel, the increases in business travel metrics in the June results are quite encouraging. Wave 5 detected a seven-point jump amongst travellers who perceive business travel to be safe, going from a score of 29 to 36.

As for dining and entertainment activities, MMGY Global indicated that travellers are feeling increasingly safe participating in all of the activities included in the survey, which includes going to a park, dining at a restaurant, and attending sporting events (indoors and outdoors) and outdoor festivals. Outdoor activities continue to be considered much safer than indoor experiences, with going to beach at the top with a safety score of 50.

And it also found that after several weeks of stagnation, travellers’ perceptions of lodging safety saw a sharp rise, with the Lodging Safety Barometer increasing from 35 to 44 over the last month.

This correlates with most major hotel brands starting to promote stringent new hygiene protocols for the wellness of guests and employees. The safety scores for staying in a hotel or resort and staying in a vacation rental home are neck and neck.

For the full report, go to www.mmgyintel.com.

And for additional COVID-19 related research and insights, go to www.mmgyglobal.com/covid-19/ .