An issue that is raising legal and ethical challenges, the concept of vaccination passports, is gaining further traction, according to February 2021 study from travel technology firm Amadeus. Its new research found 91% of travelers said they would be comfortable using a digital health passport for future trips.
The study also revealed that 41% said they would book international travel within six weeks of restrictions lifting.
The survey of 9,055 travelers in France, Spain, Germany, India, UAE, Russia, Singapore, UK and US also contained a note of caution for the industry with 93% of travelers having some concerns around how their health data for travel would be stored.
When asked about the receptiveness to storing and sharing digital health data, survey results show:
- 74% of travelers surveyed would be willing to store their travel health data electronically if it enabled them to pass through the airport faster with fewer face-to-face interactions
- 72% travelers surveyed would be willing to store their travel health data electronically if it enabled them to travel to more destinations
- 68% of travelers agreed they would be more likely to share their health data if the airlines they most frequently travel with offered a way to store their travel health data.
Although receptiveness to sharing data is high, the travel industry needs to consider traveler concerns around the use of data. The three main concerns travelers have are:
- Security risks with personal information being hacked (38%)
- Privacy concerns around what health information needs to be shared (35%)
- Lack of transparency and control over where the data is shared (30%)
The survey also explored what solutions might alleviate concerns around digital health data and travel in the future and results showed:
- 42% of travelers said a travel app that could be used across the whole journey would greatly improve their overall travel experience and reassure them their information is all in one place
- 41% of travelers agree a travel app would reduce their stress around travel
- 62% of travelers would be more likely to use an app to store their health data if a travel company partnered with a trusted healthcare company.
The research is the second in a series of traveler surveys, where Amadeus looks at traveler sentiment and concerns to help the industry rebuild travel in the most effective way. Since its last report in September 2020 it also found that 91% of travelers now say that technology will increase their confidence to travel, an increase from 84% in September.
When asked which technology would increase confidence to travel in the next 12 months, mobile solutions were highlighted as a popular option, with the top three technologies including:
- Mobile applications that provide on-trip notifications and alerts (45%)
- Contactless mobile payments (e.g., Apple or Google Pay, Paypal, Venmo) (44%)
- Mobile boarding (e.g., having your boarding pass on your mobile phone) (43%)
To learn more about the results of the Amadeus survey, read its global and country reports and infographics.