IATA has published the results of its 2022
Global Passenger Survey (GPS), showing that travelers’ top concerns
for travel in the post-COVID19 crisis period are focused on
simplification and convenience.
“Travel during COVID19 was complex, cumbersome and
time consuming due to government-imposed travel requirements,”
said Nick Careen, IATA’s Senior Vice President for Operations,
Safety and Security. “Post-pandemic, passengers want improved
convenience throughout their trip. Digitalization and use of
biometrics to speed up the travel journey is the key.”
Passengers want convenience when they plan their
travel and when choosing where to depart from. Their preference is
to fly from an airport close to home, have all booking options and
services available in one single place and pay with their
preferred payment method.
– Proximity to the airport was passengers’ main
priority when choosing where to fly from (75%). This was more
important than ticket price (39%);
– Travelers were satisfied being able to pay with
their preferred payment method which was available for 82% of
travelers. Having access to planning and booking information in
one single place was identified as being top priority; and
– 18% of passengers said that they offset their
carbon emissions, the main reason given by those that did not was
not being aware of the option (36%).
“Today’s travelers expect the same online
experience as they get from major retailers like Amazon,” said
Muhammad Albakri, IATA Senior
Vice President Financial Settlement and Distribution Services.
“Airline retailing is driving the response to these needs. It
enables airlines to present their full offer to travelers. And
that puts the passenger in control of their travel experience with
the ability to choose the travel options that they want with
convenient payment options.”
Most travelers are willing to share their
immigration information for more convenient processing.
– 37% of travelers said they have been discouraged
from traveling to a particular destination because of the
immigration requirements. Process complexity was highlighted as
the main deterrent by 65% of travelers, 12% cited costs and 8%
time;
– Where visas are required, 66% of travelers want
to obtain a visa online prior to travel, 20% prefer to go to the
consulate or embassy and 14% at the airport; and
– 83% of travelers said they would share their
immigration information to speed up the airport arrival process.
While this is high, it is slightly down from the 88% recorded in
2021.
“Travelers have told us that barriers to travel
remain,” said Careen. “Countries with complex visa procedures are
losing the economic benefits that these travelers bring. Where
countries have removed visa requirements, tourism and travel
economies have thrived. And for countries requiring certain
categories of travelers to get visas, taking advantage of traveler
willingness to use online processes and share information in
advance would be a win-win solution.”
Passengers are willing to take advantage of
technology and re-thought processes to improve the convenience of
their airport experience and manage their baggage.
– Passengers are willing to complete processing
elements off-airport. 44% of travelers identified check-in as
their top pick for off-airport processing. Immigration procedures
were the second most popular “top-pick” at 32, followed by
baggage. And 93% of passengers are interested in a special program
for trusted travelers (background checks) to expedite security
screening;
– Passengers are interested in more options for
baggage handling. 67% would be interested in home pick-up and
delivery and 73% in remote check-in options. 80% of passengers
said that would be more likely to check a bag if they could
monitor it throughout the journey. And 50% said that they have
used or would be interested in using an electronic bag tag; and
– Passengers see value in biometric
identification. 75% of passengers want to use biometric data
instead of passports and boarding passes. Over a third have
already experienced using biometric identification in their
travels, with an 88% satisfaction rate. But data protection
remains a concern for about half of travelers.
“Passengers clearly see technology as key to
improving the convenience of airport processes,” said Careen.
“They want to arrive at the airport ready-to-fly, get through the
airport at both ends of their journey more quickly using
biometrics and know where their baggage is at all times. The
technology exists to support this ideal experience. But we need
cooperation across the value chain and with governments to make it
happen. And we need to continuously reassure passengers that the
data needed to support such an experience will be safely kept.”
