After two years of border closures, Travelport’s latest survey finds people will prioritize travel over entertainment, shopping and even self-care in 2022. In a study commissioned by Travelport and conducted by Toluna Research, thousands of respondents from seven different countries said they’d even be willing to give up some of their favorite things for six months or longer in order to travel.
According to the research, 71 per cent of respondents would forgo concerts, 64 per cent would stop buying new clothes, 63 per cent would give up spa treatments, 60 per cent would skip the cinema, 53 per cent would give up playing sports and 36 per cent would stop dining at restaurants.
“While the last two+ years have been a significant challenge, the global travel industry recovered more than 50 per cent of its gross activity by the end of 2021,” said Jen Catto, Chief Marketing Officer for Travelport. “Should this trend continue along the same trajectory, it could reach 85 per cent recovery by the end of this year. The pent-up desire to travel is strong. Our latest survey findings clearly demonstrate this, highlighting how many indulgences people are willing to sacrifice in order to travel again.”
However, not every aspect of the travel experience received the same level of enthusiasm. A notable experience gap emerged between the high degree of enjoyment respondents get from going on holiday and the frustration they experienced when booking that very same trip.
43 per cent of US respondents, the largest travel region, do not find booking travel enjoyable but 95 per cent of that same group enjoy the experience of being on holiday.
Globally, travel was ranked as the number one most enjoyable activity, but when it came to shopping for travel, the industry dropped to the number four spot, trailing the worlds of clothing, restaurants and electronics. And this isn’t just a generational issue. A quarter of Gen Z respondents agreed the complexity of searching, comparing and booking travel offers just isn’t fun.
On average, travelers’ visit a whopping 38 different websites before booking their trip. Other industries have steamed ahead in terms of simplicity and innovation, evolving with their consumers’ sophisticated expectations, and shifting perceptions over time. Study respondents found the travel industry to be an outlier, perceiving it to be even less innovative than the finance industry.
“Shopping for travel is complicated, which is why Travelport has made simplifying the complex travel ecosystem its mission,” continued Catto. “With demand for travel rebounding at its strongest pace since the pandemic began, it’s imperative the industry listens to its customers. Now is the time for us to fix travel retail, putting consumer convenience, digital experience, and breadth of choice above all. By restoring clarity, confidence, and fun to travel shopping, we can grow trust, generate repeat business and inspire true loyalty – the benchmark of successful modern retailing.”
This study was conducted by Toluna Research, polling more than 2,000 respondents from the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, Hong Kong SAR, India, Singapore and the United Arab Emirates.
