Corona creates road trip boom by car

The group of vacationers who only travel by car has more than doubled within a year, according to a study by Allianz Partners published on Tuesday. The car has thus further extended its lead over other modes of transport.

Less air travel

At the same time, the renunciation of air travel has continued, as the study authors further found out. Two-thirds of respondents have not boarded an airplane once in the last 12 months.

This represents a threefold increase in flight abstinence compared to the pre-crisis period: when the survey was conducted in 2019, less than a quarter of study participants had abstained from air travel altogether in the 12 months prior to the study.

"The desire to travel is basically still there," Olaf Nink of Allianz Partners told the media at the presentation of the study. However, travel destinations that are nearby are being chosen more often.

This phenomenon is also reflected in a survey conducted by the Swiss Travel Association (SRV) among its members: While generalist travel agencies should already achieve between 40 and 50 percent of their pre-crisis sales again this year, things continue to look bleak for specialists.

"Travel agencies specializing in long-haul travel are only expected to achieve about 10 to 25 percent of pre-crisis sales for the year as a whole," said Max Katz, managing director of SRV.

Cancellation conditions become a marketing tool

According to Nink from Allianz Partners, the priorities of travelers have also changed when booking: While cancellation conditions were often ignored in the past, they have become much more important due to the pandemic.

Because today it is a selling point if a travel agency offers good cancellation conditions: "They are now moving into the sights of tour operators and are even becoming a marketing tool," the expert explained. (SDA)

As part of the study, 1042 interviews were conducted.