Survey Reveals Vaccinated Travelers More Concerned About Omicron Variant

According to MMGY Global’s most recent study of U.S. adults, 45% of those who are familiar with the Omicron variety are less inclined to travel in the next three months due to associated worries. Surprisingly, the intentions of unvaccinated tourists appear to be significantly less influenced than those of vaccinated passengers. According to the study, 39% of vaccinated persons say news of the new Omicron variant does not influence their probability to travel in the next three months, while many unvaccinated adults (71%) believe this news has no impact on their chance to travel.

The next several weeks will be crucial in deciding how big of an impact this new variation is expected to have on travel plans as scientists discover more about how Omicron acts. A sizable proportion of Americans feel it would have an impact on their willingness to travel.

• 43% think they would be substantially less inclined to travel if scientists conclude that Omicron is more likely to result in hospitalizations.
• 34% believe they would be far less inclined to travel if scientists discovered Omicron was more resistant to present vaccinations.
• 32% said they would be far less inclined to travel if scientists discovered Omicron was more easily transferred.

Clayton Reid, CEO of MMGY Global, shared his perspective on how to interpret the data. “As we have seen with the Delta variant, traveler mentality can be affected by a perpetuated media and social narrative, but that effect can be fleeting and somewhat unreliable. While we see an expected apprehension among travelers as they first learn of Omicron, we also expect this to be replaced quickly with a bullish sentiment toward 2022 travel.”

The major survey, which included almost 900 U.S. adults, also looked at consumer attitudes about health and safety measures:

• 67% of Americans agree with President Biden’s decision to strengthen testing requirements for overseas visitors to the United States.
• 64% of Americans feel that all passengers flying domestically should be completely vaccinated, and 67% say that similar conditions should be in place for overseas travelers.