We recently sent out a survey to our customer base to get a better understanding of how they are feeling about the travel industry, the pandemic, and the future of travel. More than 14,000 of you filled out of the survey, and the data we’ve collected is fascinating and very informative in what you expect the future of travel to be.

Travel plans and cancellations 

When it comes to travel plans, the majority of our travelers have had to cancel or change their 2020 plans. According to our survey, 82% of our survey participants had to change their plans because of the Coronavirus pandemic. With such an uptick in cancellations, most of the travel industry has stepped up in terms of changing cancellation and rebooking policies to be more customer-friendly. At ParkSleepFly.com, we’ve been working through hundreds of customer requests every day to help process returns more quickly.  

While cancellations increased, travelers have been hesitant to rebook. 74% of our participants are still waiting to make their new reservations. It’s no surprise, as mandatory quarantines and social distancing guidelines around the world are subject to change. When leisure travel does rebound, we have a feeling that people will be taking advantage of automobiles and other methods of transportation before jumping on airplanes. 

When will air travel pick back up? 

59%  of our respondents said they would feel comfortable traveling by plane in 6 months at the earliest. There will likely be a focus on domestic travel, as 71% of survey respondents had varying degrees of discomfort at the idea of traveling internationally. 

We anticipate domestic travel becoming the new trend and with airplanes being out of the travel circulation in the upcoming months, road trips are going to come back into favor. The data coming back from our survey participants aligns with that, as 70% of respondents said they were likely to take a road trip in 2020 over a flight. Respondents also indicated that they’re looking into options for vacations within driving distance in the coming months. 68% said they are now more likely to book a staycation.

When it is time to head to the airport, our participants have indicated that health and safety measures are the most important factor for how and where they travel. With this data, we hope to continue to tailor our services to make travel better. This has already begun with our new feature that highlights airport parking and hotel locations that have added extra safety and sanitary measures to protect the traveler when using their facilities.  

Having been leaders in the airport parking industry for more than 20 years, we have seen the travel landscape change many times. Now, the industry changes again. Thanks to our 14,076 survey participants, we have a better understanding of how travelers are feeling during this uncertain time. As always, it is our mission at AirportParkingReservations.com and ParkSleepfly.com to make the travel experience easier for you.