Poll tracks boomers’ COVID travel habits
Hesitation is permeating the travel landscape for travelers 55 and older, according to the Baby Boomer Post COVID-19 Travel Survey, which was produced by life insurance specialist Coventry Direct.
The survey, which polled baby boomers across the U.S. in August, found that 71% of respondents “feel either hesitant or very hesitant about getting on a plane in 2020.”
It also found that 77% of boomer women are “either hesitant or very hesitant” about travel in 2020 compared to 68% of their male counterparts.
Sixty-seven percent of respondents said they have not taken any international trips this year, and 40% have not taken any domestic trips.
Furthermore, 50% of those polled said they believed “the younger generations are being overly reckless with their traveling behavior in 2020.”
Going forward, 40% said they were not planning to take any international trips in 2021, while 51% said they were planning one or two domestic trips next year.
The international destinations respondents said the places they would most like to visit in a post-coronavirus world were Tokyo; Sydney, Australia; and Marrakech, Morocco.
In Europe, Amsterdam; Barcelona, Spain; and Italy’s Amalfi Coast took the top spots, with Honolulu, Costa Rica and Toronto named as the most popular destinations in North and Central America.
Thirty-six percent of female respondents said they would like to visit beach destinations, while 42% of their male counterparts said they would like to explore mountain destinations.
When asked to pin down the factors that make them hesitant to travel this year and next, 63% of respondents said “staying socially distanced from people in heavy foot traffic areas.”
Other areas of concern included being “in close proximity with others while flying on airplane” and “using public transportation like trains, subways or even Uber rides.”
While “eating, drinking and dining out” were top choices in a post-COVID world, respondents also said they were “looking forward to sightseeing tours and socializing with friends and family again.”