58% of Americans are More Likely to Buy Travel Insurance

Generali Global Assistance releases findings of Holiday/2021 Travel Sentiment Survey

Generali Global Assistance (GGA) today released the findings of its Holiday/2021 Travel Sentiment Survey which surveyed 1,138 U.S. travelers between October 26 and November 5, 2020 on their upcoming travel plans and preferences. According to the findings, 74% of U.S. travelers who indicated they would be traveling in 2020 are planning to travel during the upcoming holiday season and 47.6% of U.S. travelers are likely to purchase travel insurance for their trips in 2020.

“The average person’s willingness to travel is increasing and while there’s still plenty of pandemic related uncertainty, according to our Holiday/2021 Travel Sentiment Survey, most Americans are planning to travel domestically during the upcoming holiday season,” said Chris Carnicelli, CEO of Generali Global Assistance. 

“The pandemic has also impacted the average consumers’ willingness to purchase travel insurance with almost 60% of U.S. travelers indicating they are more likely to buy travel insurance now compared to their willingness to buy before the Covid-19 pandemic. Consumers’ demands around travel will continue to change in the wake of the pandemic and our team is consistently looking for ways to enhance our offerings in response.”

Travel Intentions

2020

• All of the consumers surveyed indicated that they were planning to travel in the next 18 months.
  
  
• 73.6% of travelers who said they would be traveling this year indicated they were planning to take a trip during the upcoming holiday season.
  
  
• 85.1% of the survey participants who said they would be traveling in 2020 indicated they’d be traveling for leisure in the remainder of the year, while 24.6 % indicated they’d be traveling for business.

2021

• 78.5% of travelers indicated they were planning to travel in either the spring or summer 2021.
  
  
• 90% of the survey participants indicated they’d be traveling for leisure in 2021, while 17.5% indicated they’d be traveling for business.

Destinations

2020

• Due to the pandemic, consumers’ confidence towards international travel remains low in both 2020 and 2021.
  
  
• 64.5% of the survey participants traveling in 2020 plan to travel domestically while 22.1% of them planning to travel internationally.

2021

• 63.1% of the survey participants traveling in 2021 plan to travel domestically while 23.1% of them planning to travel internationally.
  
  
• However, 53.9% of the U.S. travelers surveyed indicated that will comfortable traveling internationally again 6 months after a vaccine is available for Covid-19.

The survey also identified the countries and states that most U.S. travelers plan on traveling to in 2021:

Accommodations & Transportation

• During the upcoming holiday season, 53.3% of the survey participants who indicated they would travel in 2020 are planning to stay in a hotel for their trips.
  
  
• 49.5% of those who were traveling in 2020 indicated they would be staying at a vacation rental for the holidays booked either through AirBnB, Vrbo, or an independent rental company.
  
  
• 38.1% of those respondents indicated that are staying with friends and family.
  
  
• While 13.5% of those respondents indicated they’ll be taking a cruise for the holidays while 7.4% said they would be staying in an RV.

When asked about the transportation they plan to take to their destination:

• 65% of the survey participants indicated they’ll be taking their car on their 2020 trip.
  
  
• Planes were the second most popular from of transport among those traveling this year with 56.7% of respondents indicating they’ll fly to their destination.
  
  
• The remaining respondents indicated they plan on taking a train (11.5%) or ferry (6.6%) to their next destination in 2020.

Travel Insurance Sentiment

The pandemic has significantly impacted the average consumers’ decision to purchase trip protection or travel insurance.

• 58.1% of the survey participants said they were more likely to purchase travel insurance for all trips going forward and 32.8% of them are planning to purchase travel insurance for their trips in 2021.

When deciding which company to purchase travel insurance from price, online ratings and reviews and plan coverage are three key factors for the average consumer.

• 33.3% of the survey participants think of price as the most important factor
  
  
• 19.4% of them consider plan coverage as the most important factor
  
  
• 13.4% of them value online ratings and reviews the most.

Methodology

The Holiday/2021 Travel Sentiment Survey was conducted by Upwave on behalf of Generali Global Assistance between October 26 and October 27, 2020. The survey consisted of 16 questions and was conducted online with 1,011 consumers in the U.S.

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