by Lacey Pfalz
Last updated: 12:05 AM ET, Thu February 17, 2022
COVID-19 continues to shape traveler behavior in three key areas, according to data from travel insurance aggregator Squaremouth.com.
The pandemic has led to an all-time high in travelers wanting to purchase travel insurance, especially when it comes to policies that cover COVID-19-related travel emergencies. From January 2019 to January 2022, it found that sales for travel insurance rose 181 percent, nearly tripling in size.
The rate of people wanting travel insurance policies that cover COVID-19 hasn't changed from 2020 to the present day, staying at nearly 40 percent. This demonstrates that despite the relaxing of COVID-19 entry requirements worldwide and vaccinations, people are still concerned about getting the virus while abroad.
A second pandemic-related behavior is the concern about variants. While before Omicron, travelers were most worried about catching COVID-19 and having to cancel their trip before it happens, now they're more worried about variant-related border closures, with 32 percent of respondents identifying this as their main concern; the second-highest concern was getting sick before their trip.
The third pandemic-related impact on travelers is the fear of being stuck abroad if they test positive for the virus while traveling. Currently, the U.S. requires a recent negative COVID-19 test in order to return to the country, which means that travelers who test positive won't be allowed to re-enter. About 45 percent of travelers were most concerned with getting sick while abroad, with about half that number worried about getting sick and needing medical care.
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