41% of Europeans plan to travel alone in the ‘new normal’, while another 41% will travel as a couple, as seen in a study by online travel agency eDreams.
According to the survey, these groups of tourists are followed by those who prefer to travel with their kids (17%), in groups of friends (10%) or with their parents (3%).
These data are supported by the fact that up to 31% of travelers have reconsidered traveling with their preferred travel companies due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and had the current crisis not happened, going on a trip with a couple would remain the most popular option.
In this sense, travelers who plan to travel with a partner have decreased by 5% after the crisis, whereas the solo traveling option increased by 10% in just a few weeks. It is still the only growing alternative, compared to others such as traveling with children (-3%), with friends (-7%) or with parents (-3%).
As explained in the study, social distancing measures and recommendations to gather in small groups could have influenced the perception of the safety of travelers, who feel more inclined towards traveling alone in order to respect these measures and avoid restrictions applicable to groups of several people, such as seating in restaurants and beaches. As a result, the interest in traveling alone has also spiked in recent weeks across Europe by about 10% on average.
This summer, British solo travelers have an average budget of 336 euros for reservations, compared to 308 euros for travelers from Nordic countries, 322 euros for the Swiss, 320 euros from the French, 270 euros from the Germans, 257 euros from the Portuguese, and 235 euros from the Austrians. Spanish solo travelers have an average budget of 221 euros and Italian almost the same 220 euros. Also, on average, European travelers who travel by themselves will spend 283 euros on tickets.