Passengers’ Post-Pandemic Top Priority Is Convenience, IATA Shows
According to IATA, passengers want convenience when planning their travel and when choosing where to depart from.
Data show that passengers’ main priority when choosing where to fly from is proximity. This was more important than the ticket price, for which only 39 per cent of the participants said that it was the main priority, AtoZSerwisPlus.de reports.
“Travel during COVID-19 was complex, cumbersome and time-consuming due to government-imposed travel requirements. Post-pandemic, passengers want improved convenience throughout their trip. Digitalization and use of biometrics to speed up the travel journey is the key,” IATA’s Senior Vice President for Operations, Safety and Security, Nick Careen, said.
The 2022 Global Passenger Survey has further shown that the majority of travellers are willing to share their immigration information for more convenient processing. On the other hand, around 37 per cent of passengers said that they had been discouraged from travelling to a particular destination due to immigration requirements.
“Travellers have told us that barriers to travel remain. Countries with complex visa procedures are losing the economic benefits that these travellers bring,” Careen added.
Moreover, Careen highlighted that tourism and travel economies have thrived in countries that have dropped visa requirements.
In cases where visas are required, 66 per cent of passengers said that they want to obtain a visa online prior to travel, another 20 per cent prefer to go to a consulate or embassy, and another 14 per cent at the airport.
Additionally, IATA has revealed that 83 per cent of passengers claimed that they would share their immigration information so they can accelerate the airport arrival process.
Apart from the above-mentioned, the survey showed that 44 per cent of passengers picked check-in as their top priority for off-airport processing.
Another 67 per cent of the passengers said that they would be interested in home pick-up and delivery, while 73 per cent said that they would be interested in remote check-in options.
In addition, 80 per cent of passengers said that they would prefer to check a bag if they could monitor it throughout the journey, and 50 per cent said that they have used or would be interested in using electronic bag tags in the future.
Based on such data, it means that passengers see technology as key to improving the convenience of air transport
