ETC: 20% Increase in Number of Europeans Planning to Travel in Spring

A new survey by the European Travel Commission (ETC) showed that the number of European citizens preparing to travel abroad during the spring of this year was up by 20 per cent compared to the estimates for November 2020.

According to ETC’s report “Monitoring Sentiment for Domestic and Intra-European Travel”, there has also been a slight increase, from 49 percent to 52 percent, in the number of Europeans planning to travel during the next six months.

ETC’s survey shows that citizens have started to have more positive thoughts when planning their next trips. Only 12 percent of participants have considered taking tourism trips during the first two months of this year, AtoZSerwisPlus.com reports.

The survey also reveals that intra-European travel is the primary choice as most respondents wish to travel to another European country (40 percent) than travel domestically (36 percent).

“Leisure is the primary purpose for almost 63 percent of the surveyed Europeans planning to travel in the short-term while visiting friends and relatives is the main motive for another 21 percent. Business travel accounts for 9 percent of respondents,” ETC’s recent report reads.

Even though many countries continue to keep their strict preventive measures to prevent the further spread of new variants of the COVID-19 pandemic, the hopes of citizens seem to have been increased after the European Union approved the use of the vaccine against the virus, and thousands of Europeans have been vaccinated up to this point.

A total of 52 percent of Europeans who participated in the study responded that they are willing to travel by air, compared to September figures (49 percent).

According to the ETC’s report, strict health and safety protocols are the key reasons that make travel more enjoyable.

“As many as 67 percent of respondents feel safe and relaxed enough to enjoy their trip when strict protocols are in place. Only 22 percent of Europeans state that such measures can to some degree spoil the travel experience, while another 11 percent say that it makes no difference to them,” the statement reads.

The previous study conducted in October by the European Travel Commission (ETC) stressed that nearly 54 percent of European citizens plan to travel within European countries during the next six months.