ETC: Safety Becomes Main Factor for Picking a Holiday Destination for Almost All Markets in 2023
The European Travel Commission (ETC) has published its travel barometer for this year, which indicates that the most important criterion for choosing a destination for overseas markets will be the destination’s safety, meaning that places that aren’t dealing with any civil unrest or those that have low crime rates are more favourable.
According to the barometer, Chinese respondents were the main ones to be concerned about their destination’s safety, with 40 per cent voting this as the primary criterion for picking a destination, followed by Americans (37 per cent), Australians and Canadians (35 per cent, respectively) and Brazilians and Japanese, with 34 per cent of the respondents picking safety as a determining factor for their holidays, SchengenVisaInfo.com reports.
The quality of tourism infrastructures, which includes the destination’s accommodation facilities as well as sanitation, was the second most voted criterion by all markets, especially by Chinese respondents (40 per cent), followed by Brazilians (36 per cent), Australia (35 per cent), while those rates were lower for Canadians and Japanese, as 28 and 24 per cent voting so, respectively.
Furthermore, affordable travel and experiences concern most Canadians, with 41 per cent of them picking so, followed by Australians (35 per cent) and Japanese and Americans (34 per cent, respectively), while 34 per cent of respondents from Brazil had such concerns. The least concerned regarding expenses at a holiday destination were Chinese (26 per cent).
Japanese respondents on the other hand, have prioritised the must-see sites of a destination as a factor to pick a destination, as 43 per cent of respondents voted, followed by Chinese and Americans (33 and 32 per cent, respectively) while Brazilians and Canadians are less concerned whether their destination has many places to see, with 28 and 25 per cent of respondents saying so, respectively.
In addition, 34 per cent of Chinese respondents claimed they were looking for a sunny destination as pleasant weather conditions were a concern, while on the other end of the scale are Japanese, who aren’t as bothered by not-so-pleasant weather (18 per cent).
The travel barometer also shows that Chinese respondents remain alarmed compared to other markets as 25 per cent of them have listed COVID-19 cases as a factor to pick a destination while other markets are less concerned; 19 per cent of Australians and Brazilians, in addition to 14 per cent of Canadians and Japanese. The latter also has the least concerns related to travel restrictions, especially compared to Chinese respondents – 26 per cent of which pick a destination based on travel restrictions imposed.
