Nine in Ten Travelers Say ‘Yes’ to Digital Health Passports, Poll Shows

Photo source: Amadeus

Over nine in 10 travelers (91 percent) feel comfortable to use a digital health passport for future trips, according to a recent survey commissioned by travel technology company Amadeus and delivered by Censuswide.

The survey of 9,055 travelers in France, Spain, Germany, India, UAE, Russia, Singapore, the UK and the US, provides encouraging news for the industry, as 41 percent of travelers appear keen to book international travel within six weeks of restrictions lifting.

In the meantime, the message from travelers is clear: digital health passports can be a vital tool in opening up travel.

The survey also contained a note of caution for the industry with over nine in 10 (93 percent) travelers having some concerns around how their health data for travel would be stored.

Source: Amadeus

When asked about the receptiveness to storing and sharing digital health data, survey results show:

– Just under three quarters (74 percent) of travelers surveyed would be willing to store their travel health data electronically if it enabled them to pass through the airport faster with fewer face-to-face interactions

– Over seven in 10 (72 percent) travelers surveyed would be willing to store their travel health data electronically if it enabled them to travel to more destinations

– 68 percent of travelers agreed they would be more likely to share their health data if the airlines they most frequently travel with offered a way to store their travel health data.

Although receptiveness to sharing data is high, the travel industry needs to consider traveler concerns around the use of data. The three main concerns travelers have are:

– Security risks with personal information being hacked (38 percent)
– Privacy concerns around what health information needs to be shared (35 percent)
– Lack of transparency and control over where the data is shared (30 percent).

The survey also explored what solutions might alleviate concerns around digital health data and travel in the future and results showed:

– 42 percent of travelers said a travel app that could be used across the whole journey would greatly improve their overall travel experience and reassure them their information is all in one place
– 41 percent of travelers agree a travel app would reduce their stress around travel
– 62 percent of travelers would be more likely to use an app to store their health data if a travel company partnered with a trusted healthcare company.

Source: Amadeus

When asked which technology would increase confidence to travel in the next 12 months, mobile solutions were highlighted as a popular option, with the top three technologies including:

– Mobile applications that provide on-trip notifications and alerts (45 percent)
– Contactless mobile payments (e.g., Apple or Google Pay, Paypal, Venmo) (44 percent)
– Mobile boarding (e.g., having your boarding pass on your mobile phone) (43 percent).

The survey was conducted in late February 2021 by global insight-driven research firm Censuswide to explore traveler sentiment in light of COVID-19 towards digital health data and technology to help rebuild travel.