Despite COVID-19 hot spots continuing to pop up in the U.S., perceptions of safety for domestic travel, transportation, lodging and even business travel are at their highest since the start of the pandemic, according to research from travel and tourism marketing agency MMGY Global.
The company’s “Domestic Travel Safety Barometer,” which measures traveler sentiment on a scale of 0 (extremely unsafe) to 100 (extremely safe), experienced a 4-point jump with confidence in the safety of domestic travel increasing to 49 from 45 from July to August.
At the same time, MMGY’s “Lodging Safety Barometer,” which tracks confidence in staying and hotels and resorts, reached an all-time high score of 50. These positive feelings are reflected in a recent report that found the likelihood of taking a domestic leisure trip during the next six months has increased from 38% in July to 42% in August. Furthermore, 75% of travelers said they are likely to travel by personal car during the next six months — the highest level reported since the survey began in March.
After months of stagnation, MMGY’s “Business Travel Safety Barometer” score showed a modest increase to 38, up from 35 points in July. Similarly, another recent survey found the likelihood of taking a domestic business trip during the next six months increased from 31% in July to 35% in August.
It also appears from the survey that more people who thought business travel was going to be totally out of the picture this year now see it as a possibility. The percentage of business travelers who said they were not at all likely to take a business trip during the next six months declined significantly from 35% to just 25%.