When it comes to traveling in 2021, British tourists value safety over price. Now entering the second year of the coronavirus pandemic, polls say that UK consumers will choose to spend much more to ensure that their holidays are as safe as possible, and highlight that the travelers will choose to visit countries with low COVID-19 infection rates while looking for insurance that covers them in case of contagion.
According to the polls collected by the British press and carried out by insurance company AllClear Travel, the desire to enjoy a vacation is skyrocketing after the lockdown. As the company points out, two-thirds of those surveyed want to travel abroad this summer.
However, it also highlights that in this second year of the global health crisis, the safety of the destination will be the priority over price, with 44% of those polled saying they will visit a country with a low number of infections.
In the ranking of important factors to consider when traveling this year, the risk that a country may be put into a lockdown was second (42%), followed by maintaining social distancing on flights, to which 39% say they will not board a full plane. In fourth place, respondents indicated having the best possible insurance that also covers coronavirus infections, an option favored by 36% of them.
Likewise, travelers over 55 years of age confirm that they are more likely to choose a destination based on their COVID-19 record: 56% would choose these places compared to 28% of those under 34 years of age.
The research further reveals that UK adults are willing to spend £1,334 (€1,498) more than they would normally spend on their holidays to ensure the trips are as safe as possible, a figure that rises to 1,644 pounds for those with underlying health conditions.
Vaccines
After the vaccine was announced at the end of 2020, which the United Kingdom has already begun to administer, more than half of those surveyed (55%) said that they would feel comfortable going on vacation again, since traveling has become a priority for their 2021 plans.
“There’s no doubt that the travel industry has taken a severe multi-billion-pound knock but, for 2021, UK consumers are intending to travel and their focus is now more on safety and quality rather than a hunt for a bargain break,” explains Chris Rolland, CEO of AllClear Insurance, “Covid has been an assault on people’s most basic freedom, the freedom to travel, and we expect to see an emphatic holiday boom this summer as the vaccine helps us to turn the tide on this terrible pandemic.”
The Safest Countries
The poll also asked British citizens which countries they feel safe traveling to in 2021. Australia and New Zealand were the destinations that people believe are safer to visit now, although traveling to these countries is not possible due to the current travel restrictions.
Respondents said that southern and northern European countries will be safe to travel within 12 months (56% for each region). However, almost 50% believe that the Caribbean will be safe in a year, while the US, South America and South Asia will remain banned for at least another year.