Granted, the survey was done by a company that relies on travelers, but it’s still nice to see the optimism.
More than 75 percent of American respondents to a survey by luggage locker brand LuggageHero say they plan to keep traveling in 2020. The research is part of an ongoing study that monitors travel sentiments during the coronavirus outbreak. The April results show that Americans are still eager to travel, however, they are slightly more cautious now than they were previously.
The survey was conducted April 5-9, 2020, just before Dr. Anthony Fauci, Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, gave travelers a glimmer of hope by telling CBS This Morning that summer travel “can be in the cards” despite the current circumstances stemming from the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
When asked about travel between June and December 2020, 77 percent of respondents said that they were sticking to their plans aslong as their hometowns or travel destinations were not under quarantine. Fifty-six percent of travelers who responded to the survey said that they already had plans to travel between June and December.
Of those who had already made plans, 42 percent said that they would not be changing their destination. Thirty-two percent said that they would now avoid big cities and public transportation and favor parks and the outdoors.
Nearly half of the respondents said that they were still planning to travel abroad, and 44 percent said that they would change their international destination to a domestic one in 2020.
In a show of optimism, just 8 percent of travelers worldwide said that they would not travel at all in 2020.
Despite the optimism, however, travelers are becoming increasingly cautious with spending. About a third said that they will reduce their vacation expenses up to 40 percent, while another third said that they would cut their budgets by more than 40 percent. Similar to the recession of 2008, camping could be positioned as an affordable travel/vacation option.
