This was one of the findings of new consumer research conducted by PwC this month, with the results released as part of the TTG Agenda 2021, The Travel Restart online seminar for TTG+ members (sign up here for access to the full report and to watch the seminar On Demand).
While the possibility of catching Covid still ranks highly as a barrier for holidaymakers, it has reduced significantly from summer 2020 when fear of getting the virus at destination or while travelling was seen as a barrier by 50% and 51% of consumers respectively; these figures have now dropped to 29% and 28% for summer 2021.
“The top barriers to people travelling remain restrictions to travelling (either in the UK or the destination), the need to quarantine and fear of catching Covid. That means a lot has to happen for travel to resume en masse,” said David Trunkfield, hospitality and leisure leader at PwC, who presented the report at the TTG Agenda 2021 seminar.
The survey of 2,000 consumers in March found 41% planned to increase spending on holidays over the next year compared with the previous 12 months, with only 15% saying they would be spending less on breaks.
These findings are a complete turnaround from October’s survey.
Consumers also have an increased appetite for resuming travel more quickly than they did last year – both for domestic UK and international holidays. This is particularly true for younger people, aged from 18 to 34, although all age groups are showing more willingness to resume travel.
An accompanying PwC trade survey also illustrated pent-up demand from consumers, with 83% of travel companies believing this potential wave of bookings will be the biggest opportunity of 2021.
