As fear over the coronavirus builds, people are beginning to question whether they should still travel abroad with many cancelling or re-arranging their upcoming holiday plans.
However, GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company believes staycations could be the answer holidaymakers turn to.
“People will still want to go on holiday – they do not want to give up their holidays altogether. However, they are going to start to revert to ‘safety first’,” says Nick Wyatt, Head of R&A, Travel & Tourism at GlobalData, comments.
Domestic Tourism Gains
“They’re going to say ‘where am I comfortable taking my family? Where do I feel it is safe?’ There is a very good chance that they might actually land on their own country as the answer to that question,” he explains.
Wyatt says staycations are likely to make travellers feel more comfortable as they are familiar with the location, they can potentially avoid flying, and they know the health service and health structure.
Travelling within your own country also has other benefits that include reduced travel times and no language barrier.
Strong Holidaying Culture In Europe
“Therefore, we may see an uptick in staycations, particularly in countries such as the UK and Germany where there is a strong holidaying culture, but also subcultures and different offerings within the country that position them well to benefit from any rise in domestic tourism.
“We have seen restrictions on tourist attractions in some countries – good examples being the Louvre in Paris and Disney parks in Tokyo, Hong Kong and Shanghai.
“There have also been restrictions on people travelling within some countries in Asia, so I would not expect to see the same level of domestic travel for these countries at this point in time. However, for EMEA, while we have got examples like Switzerland banning gatherings over 1 000 people, in most places it is business as usual.”
