According to the Global Rescue Winter Traveler Sentiment and Safety Survey, travelers are planning three or more trips in 2024, with the majority (93%) including international destinations. His 41% of respondents said he is planning three or more trips abroad.
The findings are consistent with expert forecasts and travel volumes reported by the TSA, and are a clear indicator that the rebound in travel will continue through 2024.
According to the study, Mexico, Canada, Europe and Africa are the four top international destinations for travelers. However, a significant number of survey respondents (66%) plan to include new international destinations to visit this year. The top 10 most frequently mentioned are Spain, Africa, Japan, Argentina, Italy, Australia, Greece, Portugal, Greenland, and Norway.
Many travelers reported that they were planning longer and more adventurous trips. Almost a quarter (23%) of respondents said that they plan to take at least one long trip abroad in 2024 since the pandemic ends. One in five respondents (21%) are planning more adventurous and immersive travel in 2024 than ever before. A journey through the past.
Travelers' desire to explore the world is increasing. Today's travelers are increasingly bold and seeking out new destinations that are pristine, less popular, more remote, and sometimes a little more dangerous. Segments focused on adventure travel, luxury travel and other activities will continue to experience strong growth. Many locations are at capacity or oversubscribed and have waiting lists.
Most respondents (83%) said they travel with friends or family, but only for part of the trip. Almost a third (30%) say some of their trips will be solo, 19% will take at least one trip alone with a group of strangers, and 8% will take at least one trip for work. I answered that I would be traveling with friends.
In tandem with the ongoing travel recovery, concerns about the safety of travelers around the world have understandably increased. Civil unrest and terrorism are travelers' biggest fears, surpassing accidents and injuries, and attitudes have changed dramatically since last year.
More than a third (36%) of travelers reported civil unrest and terrorism as their top concern while traveling around the world. This reflects her 3x increase compared to Spring 2023. A quarter (25%) of respondents said they had an accident or illness while traveling. Traveling is their biggest fear, a significant decrease from spring 2023, when half (50%) of travelers reported that injury or illness was their biggest concern.
Nevertheless, international travelers continue to travel despite the growing threat of civil unrest, war, and terrorism. Travelers have increased travel protection with security advisories and extraction protection. A third of respondents (34%) are more likely to add security and advisory protection to their travel protection package due to the Ukraine war, Hamas attack on Israel, or other violent conflicts It says that it will be.
Traveler anxiety generally increases traveler demand for emergency medical and security services. Last year, traveler purchases of security and extraction services increased by 36%, and this trend is expected to continue into 2024. We can see that this traveler's behavior has been seen since the Ukraine war and continues after the attack on Israel.
Travelers are demanding more safety, and the travel industry is responding. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is promoting new security screening programs, such as the Screening at Speed program. This allows us to scan passengers as they walk, capture data through most clothing, and reliably detect a wider range of prohibited items, whether concealed or not.
Hotels use keyless entry, elevator access controls, and surveillance cameras to increase guest safety, and Airbnb users are required to verify their identity before booking. Travelers are turning to door wedges, portable door locks, and lock lockers (devices designed to prevent someone else from unlocking a deadbolt) to further protect their hotel rooms.
Travelers can also use integrated health and security apps like Global Rescue's GRID 2.0 to monitor civil unrest, disease-related developments, safety issues, transportation disruptions, communications outages, floods, and other natural disasters. They seek reassurance from receiving notifications and warnings. , hurricanes, earthquakes, and volcanic activity.
Business and leisure travelers expect critical medical, security, and other important travel-related intelligence to be available in real-time and at their fingertips. Last year, we reported more than 10,000 global events and delivered alerts for nearly 1 million events.
As travel continues to recover, so will the demand for more traveler protections.
Dan Richards He is CEO of The Global Rescue Companies, a world-leading provider of medical, security, evacuation, and travel risk management services, and a member of the U.S. Department of Commerce's U.S. Travel and Tourism Advisory Board.
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