Which are the main obstacles that prevent Europeans from travelling? (new survey)

Travel restrictions due to Covid-19 pandemic is the main obstacle for 50% of Europeans who want to travel internationally. A smaller number of European travelers (44%) are not confident to travel because of health risks and just 22% of Europeans admitted that the cost of travelling prevents them from taking the decision for holidays or a business trip. The above data come from YouGov’s International Travel and Tourism Report 2021.

On the other hand, USA travelers are more hesitant to travel because of the health risks. This is the main obstacle for 37% of USA travelers while 28% said that the cost of travelling is the number one obstacle for them. Lastly, 27% of the USA travelers said that they are reluctant to travel because of the travel restrictions. The health risks are also the major obstacle for 50% of Asian travelers.

Travel restrictions worry mainly travelers in the UK, in Germany, in Norway, in Denmark and in Spain. More specifically, 62% of travelers in the UK presented as an obstacle in their decision to travel the restrictions that apply at this period of time making traveling difficult. After all, British government has implemented strict measures for its citizens who want to travel internationally, especially for some countries- destinations. The health risks are a problem for 42% of UK citizens while the cost for travelling is an obstacle for 25% of UK citizens.

In Germany, 60% of the citizens said that travel restrictions are the main obstacle, preventing them from travelling while 51% of people said that they are hesitant to travel due to health risks. Just 17% of German citizens said that the price of travel is an obstacle for them when thinking of travelling.

In Norway, 47% of people are reluctant to travel due to travel restrictions while 41% said that health risks are the main obstacle when thinking of traveling. In Denmark and Spain the percentage of people who are hesitant to travel due to the implemented travel restrictions is 51% and 49% respectively. France is another country that travel restrictions is the main obstacle for people when thinking of travelling. According to the report, 42% of citizens in France won’t decide to travel because of the travel restrictions while 37% of them put as a priority the health risks.

However, in Finland, Sweden and Italy citizens presented the health risks as the main obstacle and the travel restrictions as the second reason for preventing them from travelling. More specifically, 57% of citizens in Finland, 44% of citizens in Sweden and 42% of citizens in Italy answered that they consider the health risks as the major obstacle when thinking of travelling internationally. At the same time, the travel restrictions come next for the 47% of the citizens in Finland, the 41% of the citizens in Sweden and the 39% of the citizens in Italy.

The 57% of people in France have plans to travel domestically for leisure in the next 12 months. Also, 37% of the Germans are willing to do so and the 56% of the British people. But business travel, both domestically and internationally, is trending surprisingly low (lower than 10%). In Australia, 70% of the citizens are willing to travel domestically for leisure in the next 12 months, while in the USA 69% of the citizens have plans to travel domestically for leisure in the next 12 months. Lastly, in Japan 86% of the citizens are planning to travel domestically for leisure in the next 12 months. In UAE 25% of the citizens plan to travel domestically for leisure in the next 12 months.