1 in 5 Brits want COVID-19 vaccine so they can travel again

A lot of holiday plans were postponed or cancelled as the travel industry was ravished by the COVID-19 pandemic. Now that a vaccine has been found, many are hoping that we can all go back in planning our next holiday.

Official-esta.com has conducted a survey to reveal how UK residents feel about COVID-19 vaccines and how they think it will impact the travel industry.

The survey revealed that almost 1 in 5 (19%) UK residents said that they only want to be vaccinated so they can travel. However, younger generations put travel at the forefront of their minds when considering whether to get vaccinated.

In the 16 to 24 and 25 to 34 age groups, the number was significantly higher with a third (33%) of respondents in each of these age groups saying they only want the COVID-19 vaccine so they can go on holiday. Almost half (46%) of 25-34-year-olds also said that they would pay to get the vaccine if it meant they could travel sooner. Although travel may not be the primary reason for getting the vaccine for many, over half (62%) of those aged 75 to 84 said that they would have the vaccine if it allowed them to travel again.

How do we think the COVID-19 vaccine will impact travel?

There is much discussion about how COVID-19 and the associated vaccines will impact travel moving forwards – from vaccine passports to continued mask-wearing on aeroplanes and more transparency over health conditions, but what do we think of these possible measures?

Looking at the total UK population, 38.9 million Brits believe that the COVID-19 vaccine should be compulsory for those who are travelling overseas with 29.2 million people saying that there should be a COVID-19 passport for travellers. However, 8.1 million Brits said that they haven’t complied with travel quarantine guidelines following their trips abroad during the last 12 months.

Jayne Forrester, director of International Development at Official-esta.com said, “For the travel industry, in particular, it is crucial for us to begin travelling again in order to provide countries with much-needed income and to support businesses and jobs in the sector.

“It is great to see that so many people are thinking about travelling as soon as they can and that the thought of travel is spurring them on to get the vaccination. It is unclear how COVID-19 and the vaccine will impact travel in the long-term, with some current speculation about whether it will be mandatory to have the vaccination prior to any travel or whether vaccination passports will be required. However, the most important thing moving forward is that travel is as safe as possible for all involved, whether that be for visitors or for staff in the industry.”