UserTesting Research Finds Australians Express Caution Regarding Travel Bubble, and For Good Reason

SYDNEY, May 7, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Optimism abounded for many Australian tourists when a travel bubble between Australia and New Zealand, allowing travel without quarantine, opened on April 18th. UserTesting, a leading provider of on-demand Human Insights, queried Australians on their reactions to the new travel opportunity and learned that caution was the word of the day for many.

Travel concerns about COVID spikes

Some of their fears and concerns materialized faster than expected. A COVID outbreak in Perth, resulting in a lockdown on April 23rd, caused New Zealand to pause the travel bubble with Western Australia. The possibility of COVID cases rising again was a concern that emerged from the study. Another concern revealed was the potential of getting locked out of one's home country should a COVID spike and lockdown occur while abroad. 

Who is ready to travel?

Even with travel to New Zealand still open within regions of Australia, many travelers won't be packing their bags right away. The study found that 60 percent of men surveyed planned to travel, yet 70 percent of women did not.  It was also revealed that for those who plan on taking advantage of the travel bubble, a majority of respondents (100 percent of women and 90 percent of men) don't plan to travel for at least 90 days or longer.

What is clear, is that those Australians planning on taking advantage of the travel bubble will be doing so for fun. The study found that 90 percent of men and 70 percent of women would be traveling purely for pleasure.

More travel bubbles with more countries

Respondents would like to see global travel open in a safe and well-planned manner. Beyond Australian & New Zealand travel bubble, other countries respondents would like to see open up next include Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan, and Vietnam. Many feel travel to Europe and the United States may be far off, possibly not until 2022, due to the high COVID rates.

Methodology

The study was conducted in April with 10 men and 10 women that participated in the video think-aloud study. The participants were between the ages of 25 and 50, living in Australia.

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Media Contact:

Chris Halcon
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