Safety cleans up

Looking ahead, while our desire to explore local and international destinations hasn’t decreased, we do expect to see many places introduce health and safety measures aimed at increasing protection against the coronavirus. Many are looking to the travel industry to pave the way for establishing the “new normal.”
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Precautions top of mind ​

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79% of travelers say they’ll be happy to take more precautions due to the coronavirus when setting off on their travels. While planning for their trips, 59% of travelers will avoid certain destinations if it means avoiding crowds, and 70% will also expect tourist attractions to adapt to social distancing rules.

When it comes to choosing accommodations, 70% of people will only book if they know what health and hygiene policies are in place, with three-quarters (75%) favoring accommodations that provide antibacterial and sanitizing products. ​
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Questions:
1.Taking more travel precautions (e.g. for sanitation/cleanliness)
2.There are certain destinations I’ll avoid traveling to in the future
3.Booking accommodations with health & hygiene policies
4.Avoiding public transit due to fears of contracting the coronavirus
5.Wearing a mask in public
6.Taking a health spot-check on arrival. Select a question to view the responses. Global shaded in red.

Road trip ready

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Along with a shift in destination preferences, transportation preferences have also changed. Almost half (46%) of travelers will prefer to avoid public transit (such as flying or trains) to avoid traveling with a large number of people. Instead, travelers will choose to rent or drive their own cars to and around their destinations, making 2021 the year of the road trip.
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Safety first

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Travelers seem willing to adapt to the “new normal” health and safety measures introduced to combat the coronavirus. Two-thirds (67%) of travelers will be okay with visiting destinations with health spot-checks on arrival. And 62% will wear a mask in public if required. However, quarantine measures will remain less popular, with far fewer (27%) travelers willing to quarantine in order to travel to a particular destination.

Methodology:
*Research commissioned by Booking.com and conducted among a sample of adults who have traveled for business or leisure in the past 12 months, and must be planning to travel in the next 12 months (if/once travel restrictions are lifted). In total 20,934 respondents across 28 countries were polled (including 999 from USA, 496 from Canada, 497 from Mexico, 997 from Colombia, 999 from Brazil, 499 from Argentina, 995 from Australia, 499 from New Zealand, 999 from Spain, 996 from Italy, 996 from France, 999 from UK, 996 from Germany, 498 from Netherlands, 499 from Denmark, 499 from Sweden, 498 from Croatia, 1001 from Russia, 498 from Israel, 997 from India, 994 from China, 499 from Hong Kong, 497 from Thailand, 496 from Singapore, 499 from Taiwan, 997 from South Korea, 500 from Vietnam, and 995 from Japan). Respondents completed an online survey in July 2020.
†Based on the share of filter users who used the “pet-friendly” filter, comparing the average use of the filter across 2019.
‡Based on endorsements left on Booking.com as part of post-stay reviews. Insight based on endorsements that saw the biggest increase in monthly usage between April 1, 2020 and September 11, 2020, compared to the average monthly endorsements between January 2019 and February 2020.
§Research commissioned by Booking.com and independently conducted among a sample of 50,688 respondents across 29 markets. To participate in this survey, respondents had to be 18 or older, have traveled at least once in the past 12 month, and be either the primary decision maker or involved in the decision making of their travel. The survey was taken online in November 2019.