Rising cost of living factors into passengers’ future travel plans.

Due to the current economic situation, travelers have to do various additional things.

While the world of commercial aviation has largely entered the post-coronavirus recovery period, some barriers are still preventing passengers from traveling as much as they could before COVID hit. The main reason for this is the cost of living, but how much is this affecting people’s travel plans?

An important reason

Skyscanner has addressed this question as part of its latest ‘Horizon’ travel survey. The company polled 11,000 travelers from 10 countries to gain a better understanding of what their travel and spending habits will look like in the future. They were also asked about the cost of living.

Globally, 59% of survey respondents confirmed that this was the case for them. Another 16 percent said they did not know, while the remaining 25 percent reported that their travel plans were not affected.

Interestingly, there was considerable variation in the answers given by respondents from different countries participating in the survey. For example, only 33% of UK respondents said yes, compared to 73% in the UAE. In this regard, another Middle Eastern country, Saudi Arabia, is at the top with 71 percent.

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What measures are passengers taking?

The Horizon survey also explored the steps travelers are taking to save money on their future travel plans. For example, 36% of respondents said that, for future international trips, they would choose destinations where their money would go further. This was a particularly popular response among participants from the US, with 57% indicating that this would be the case.

While not all 11,000 participants answered these follow-up questions, the 6,408 that did provide an interesting picture of the travel and spending habits of future travelers. Spending less on hotels also ranked high, with 32% of respondents indicating that this would be part of their budget travel plans.

The same amount indicated that they want to reduce the amount of money spent when they reach their destination. An example of this could be choosing a comfortable accommodation instead of eating out every day. The United States was again the largest source of ‘yes’ answers in this regard, with 51% responding. At the other end of the scale, Italy’s figure was just 20%.

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Despite the challenges, spending is rising.

While the high cost of living has prompted commuters to think carefully about how they travel, it hasn’t deterred them from traveling entirely. In fact, Skyscanner’s Horizons survey found that 45% of respondents plan to travel more by 2023, and 41% are prepared to invest more money in such trips. This demand will help sustain commercial aviation’s ongoing recovery efforts.

What did you make of Skyscanner’s findings? Are you taking action to change your future travel and spending habits? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.

Source: Skyscanner