RICHMOND, VA, December 2, 2020 — Significant progress in the race to find a COVID-19 vaccine should prod American travelers to book their next trip, according to Allianz Partners’ latest survey* of its U.S. travel insurance customers. The survey’s findings come at a time when Americans are rapidly learning of promising developments around potential vaccines, bringing newfound hope for the travel industry and 2021 vacation plans.
The travel insurance and assistance provider** surveyed 3,500 of its customers in order to gauge travelers’ intent in booking trips more than 100 miles from their home (for at least two nights) and to track changing travel sentiment since a similar survey was conducted in the spring.
The majority of customers (58%, up 6 points from the Spring survey), who were surveyed shortly before the news broke last month about a promising vaccine, responded that a proven vaccine would make them feel safe again to travel, with customers over the age of 65 placing more importance on the vaccine than customers under the age of 45. Health officials announcing it is safe to travel was second (48%, up three points), and the previously top safety measure, advanced sanitization efforts at hotels, airports, etc. (47%, down five points), came in at third but was the most important factor among customers under the age of 45.
Almost a third of the customers surveyed (32%, up two points) are still not certain when they’ll next travel. Allianz also found 9% of customers over the age of 65 will be traveling this fall, compared to 18% of customers under the age of 45.
Additionally, the survey discovered that most Americans plan to fly (70%, up 5 points) for their next trip, while travelers opting to drive to their destination have taken a back seat, (19%, down 9 points). Whether the drop in road trip travel is tied to winter weather and driving conditions, or the potential COVID-19 vaccines, the result is a positive sign for the airline industry, which faced a difficult year of decreased demand and the task of rebuilding customer trust through advanced safety measures.
“The promise of a highly-effective COVID-19 vaccine could be a substantial step toward recovery for the travel industry, and as our survey found, a key factor in customers feeling more confident booking trips for 2021,” said Daniel Durazo, Director of Marketing and Communications at Allianz Partners USA. “With pent-up travel demand at a seemingly all-time high, we anticipate Americans will be looking to book their ultimate itineraries in 2021 to their favorite destinations.”
Until further notice, although Allianz travel insurance products generally do not cover known, foreseeable, or expected events, epidemics, government prohibitions, warnings, or travel advisories, or fear of travel, Allianz has made several temporary claims accommodations for trip cancellations, trip interruptions and emergency medical care for those who become ill with COVID-19, and is temporarily accommodating refunds of travel insurance premiums to customers whose travel suppliers have canceled their trips due to COVID-19, so long as no payable claim has been filed under the plan.***
Allianz Partners offers travel insurance through most major U.S. airlines, leading travel agents, online travel agencies and directly to consumers. For more information on Allianz and the policies offered for travelers, please visit: http://www.allianztravelinsurance.com
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*Methodology: This press release examines results from an Allianz Travel survey of a random sample of 3,500 OTA, B2C, Airline and Retail customers who purchased a policy between 11/1/19-9/30/20. The survey ran from 10/27/2020-11/9/2020 and asked several questions about when and how respondents will travel next. For consistency purposes, customers were provided with the following definition of travel: a trip to a destination that is more than 100 miles from your home and lasts for at least 2 nights.
