FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Colleen Gallagher
315.447.2331
Employees Ready To Get Back On The Road, But Companies Aren't Funding The Recovery Yet
June 15, 2021 (Washington, DC) – Business traveler confidence soared in May with 42% now fully ready to travel - up from 20% in April, according to the latest monthly Traveler Confidence Index developed by Travel Again. Additionally, 31% are in the planning stage for some type of business travel this summer and 74% are willing to travel domestically for business travel in the next 90 days - up from 55% in April. But while they may be ready, employers are not as only 22% of business travel respondents have current business travel plans on the books.
“With vaccinations on the rise and restrictions being eased throughout the country, there is a sense that a return to normalcy is finally coming,” said Travel Again Co-Founder Mike McCormick. “The data from our latest Traveler Confidence Index shows buoyed confidence among both business and leisure travelers. It is more important than ever that industry and government collaborate on universal standards and clear guidance for resuming safe and responsible travel to keep this trend moving in the right direction.”
Additional Key Findings
Leisure travelers will be venturing across the U.S. this summer, with 67% either confident to travel domestically or uneasy but still planning to do so. Only 13% are not planning to travel at all.
Confidence in international travel continues to lag behind domestic travel considerably, but leisure travelers are more anxious to visit overseas destinations. For the first time, more than 50% (50.8%) of leisure travelers say they would travel internationally in the next six months. For business travelers, 46% are willing to travel internationally in the near future.
The number of vaccinated travelers increased slightly, surpassing the 75% level for the first time, with roughly 14% saying they do not intend to get vaccinated. Vaccinations for yourself and limited crowd size were among the most important confidence building elements for both business and leisure travelers.
Traveler Confidence Index: The confidence index for leisure travelers continued to inch upward this month, from 3.54 to 3.68, while business travelers jumped from 3.18 to 3.77. That represents the largest monthly jump since we started the survey last October.
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 eighth 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.
About Travel Again: Travel Again unites the global travel industry to restore consumer and corporate confidence in traveling and to encourage responsible government policy. Visit travelagainproject.org for more information. Join Travel Again and support the global recovery of the travel industry. Follow Travel Again on LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook.