by Lacey Pfalz
Last updated: 10:27 AM ET, Wed May 5, 2021
Travel Again has updated its Traveler Confidence Index to include data about travelers' confidence in April, especially with the TSA's recent extension of the mask mandate on airplanes, which was set to expire May 11 but has been extended through September 13, 2021.
The vast majority of those surveyed believe that the mask mandate should be extended. Around 39 percent of leisure and 37 percent of business travelers surveyed also believe that it should be extended until the country reaches herd immunity.
Confidence in travel has grown in recent months, but concern is still high. The Traveler Confidence Index measures confidence on a 5-point scale, with 1 being the least amount of confidence, 5 being the highest. As of April, leisure travelers are at 3.54.
This number means that they are concerned about traveling, but would travel anyway or are in the process of making plans to travel. Around one-quarter of leisure travelers are fully ready to travel, which grew from 16 percent in March. The numbers are still low, but they are growing.
In fact, more than 75 percent of leisure travelers would travel domestically in the next six months, a marked rise from 67 percent in March. Forty-seven percent of leisure travelers have made travel reservations, as opposed to only 20 percent of business travelers.
"Our survey data showed the initial announcement of the mask mandate received a 91 percent traveler confidence approval rating, so it comes as no surprise that travelers overwhelmingly support its extension," said Travel Again Co-Founder Mike McCormick. "This demonstrates the power of instituting consistent policies that travelers understand. The mask mandate secures confidence for all those who are traveling and allows frontline travel staff to be more effective in their role in keeping the public safe while traveling."
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