New research by 365 Aviation suggests that three in ten of Britons (29 per cent) will change their holiday travel habits as a result of COVID-19, citing concerns over mass transport and crowds, along with health and hygiene standards. With British holidaymakers in the middle of their traditional annual summer break, the research suggests that more reassurance around international travel is necessary and that lockdown relaxation and travel corridors offer insufficient confidence to get people travelling again, risking further damage to an already beleaguered travel industry.

Commissioned by 365 Aviation and carried out by Censuswide in July 2020., the survey of over 1,000 adults backs up 365's belief that “controlled environment travel”, travelling and remaining in a secure, controlled bubble whilst away, will encourage people to take foreign holidays once again. Of those surveyed, 47 per cent indicated their preferred accommodation would be a private villa, chalet or self-catered home, although 42 per cent said they would still feel comfortable staying in a hotel.

Crowds (53 per cent), hygiene (51 per cent) and safety (45 per cent) were the main concerns of those surveyed. A quarter (25 per cent) were worried about being in an airport environment while 28 per cent were worried about new health screening requirements. Others cited fears over travel insurance cover as well as worries about flouting of social distance regulations.

People are most nervous about travelling by bus (48 per cent), train (48 per cent) and commercial flights (46 per cent), with ferries and cruise ships (40 per cent) and public taxis/uber (38 per cent) not far behind. By contrast, only 15 per cent of people are nervous about using private jets or yachts. Driving their own private vehicles (nine per cent) was the only safer way to travel according to the respondents.

In an indication that Brits will travel less but take bigger, more meaningful trips in the future (32 per cent), one third want to travel to tick off bucket list destinations once restrictions lift. Over 40 per cent of 16-24 year olds want to travel to help people as a way to give back, demonstrating awareness of the impact of tourism by Millennials and Generation Z.

Of those surveyed, 64 per cent anticipate taking their first holiday after lockdown with family, while 44 per cent of 16-24 year olds expect to travel with friends. Nearly twice as many men as women plan to travel alone (19 per cent versus 10 per cent).

365 Aviation executive chairman Colin Baker says: “This research supports our belief that controlled environment travel will become a trend in the months and years ahead. As the world began to lock down we experienced our biggest ever surge in enquiries. More than half of those clients had never flown privately before but were drawn to the control they could exercise over safety and health procedures, along with avoiding the high number of touch points at major commercial airport hubs.

“We expect to see increased use of private air travel as clients will be willing to allocate a higher proportion of their budget to an aircraft shared only with those they are holidaying with. This new breed of client is more cost conscious, but when, for example, a one-way flight from the UK to Nice can cost less than GBP1,000 per person based on filling an 8 seat Citation XLS+, with a generous luggage allowance and a check-in time of just 20 minutes, more people who had never previously considered it as an option are realising that it is in fact within their grasp.”