DALLAS—Unicomm, producer of the leading series of travel shows in the U.S., surveyed nearly 6,200 active travelers in six major metropolitan markets regarding the potential impact of the current Ebola occurrences as they relate to their travel plans and their overall outlook regarding the U.S. travel system.
Coincidentally, Unicomm’s upcoming Travel & Adventure Show will be held October 25-26 in Dallas, which is at the epicenter of the Ebola scare in the U.S. The company, based in Milford, Conn., reports that event registration is up compared to previous years and the health scare has not negatively affected the event, which hosts over 150 exhibitors and 500+ travel experts from around the world. However, the survey does show a definite impact on the travel and tourism industry.
“We found that active travelers, those that take 2 or more trips a year, have somewhat raised anxiety with 41% expressing much more or somewhat higher levels of anxiety related to traveling since the first case of Ebola in the U.S.,” stated John Golicz, CEO of Unicomm. “However, over 70% have no intention to change domestic travel plans in the next 30 days,” added Golicz.
In regards to international travel, the outlook is less optimistic. The survey shows that nearly 40% of active travelers will likely limit travel outside the USA in the next 30 days, with over 12% stating they will not travel internationally due to Ebola concerns.
“We are finding that those U.S. consumers most likely to travel have elevated concerns regarding Ebola, but are not at this moment making large scale travel plan changes,” stated Golicz. “However, clearly anxiety levels are heightened and there appears to be a crisis of confidence in the way public officials and the government have handled the Ebola incidents to date.”
When asked if an additional incident of Ebola occurred resulting from an international traveler, nearly 47% of active travelers stated they would reduce or even cease traveling.
Over 71% of seasoned travelers indicated they favored a temporary restriction in inbound travel from Ebola affected countries in West Africa.
“As the leading series of travel shows in the USA, serving over 1 million US consumer travelers, we are calling for the US government to temporarily restrict travel from Ebola affected countries,” stated Golicz. “With over 70 million international and domestic travelers flying in the U.S. monthly, and the over $889 billion economic impact of travel in this country, we simply cannot afford for the public to lose faith in the US travel system. Further escalation of Ebola cases will have a severe negative impact on the travel sector. We are urging our government representatives to act appropriately and enhance the public’s travel confidence.”
