FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Meghan Henning 571.309.3961
Business Traveler Confidence Plummets Amid Another Coronavirus Surge
Mandatory Masks and Frequent Cleaning Among Most Important Confidence Building Elements According to Latest Traveler Confidence Index
December 1, 2020 (Washington, DC) – Business travel confidence dropped significantly between October and November (2.97 to 2.63) bringing it in line with leisure travel confidence, according to the monthly Traveler Confidence Index developed by Travel Again. Less than 1 in 10 (8.8%) business travelers have made future reservations as business travel continues to decline to its lowest levels in modern history.
Mandatory masks and frequent cleaning are the most important confidence building elements for both business and leisure travelers. Three-quarters of all travelers would be willing to take multiple COVID tests before and during travel and share their results to resume traveling without restrictions. Additionally, nearly 80% of business travelers and 70% of leisure travelers say empty middle seats would increase their confidence in traveling.
“Overall traveler confidence continues to be very low, causing significant uncertainty about future traveling for both business and leisure travelers,” said Travel Again Co-Founder Mike McCormick. “As traveler confidence is a leading indicator for future travel volumes as well as overall economic health, it is imperative that we unite as an industry and make all recovery decisions through the lens of increasing traveler confidence.”
Travel Again has developed the Traveler Confidence Index assessing confidence levels in both the business and leisure traveler to guide the prioritization of future travel industry initiatives by measuring the impact on traveler confidence. This second edition focuses on U.S. travelers and we will continue reporting out on the index monthly, and will ultimately expand to include other countries as well.