Usage of Digital Health Passport is the New Travel Trend

As authorities and the travel industry examine digital health passports’ privileges, travelers’ message is clear: Digital health passports can be an essential tool in initiating travel. A study commissioned by Amadeus and performed by Censuswide affirmed that just over 9 in 10 (91 percent) travelers would be comfortable using a digital health passport for forthcoming trips.

This promising research presents an incentive to stimulate digital health passports programs that will help address traveler concerns.

The study presented additional good news for the industry as just over two in five voyagers (41 percent) said they would book international travel within six weeks of lifting the restrictions, demonstrating that the craving to travel remains high.

They surveyed about 9,055 travelers in France, Spain, Germany, India, United Arab Emirates, Russia, Singapore, the U.K, and the United States stated that over 9 in 10 travelers (93 percent) have some concerns about their health data for travel.

When asked about the responsiveness to saving and sharing digital health information, survey results show:

• Just under three-quarters (74 percent) of travelers examined would be prepared to store their travel health information electronically if it enabled them to pass through the airport faster with fewer face-to-face interactions.
• Over 7 in 10 (72 percent) travelers surveyed would be prepared to store their travel health information electronically if it permitted them to travel to more destinations.
• 68 percent of travelers admitted they would be more likely to share their health data if the airlines they generally travel with offered a way to store their travel health data.

Although responsiveness to sharing data is comparatively high, the travel industry requires considering traveler concerns around the use of data. The three main concerns travelers have are:

• Security hazards with private information being hacked (38 percent)
• Privacy issues around what health information needs to be given (35 percent)
• Lack of transparency and control over where the data is distributed (30 percent)

The study also explored what solutions might mitigate concerns around digital health data and travel in the future. Results showed:

• 42 percent of travelers said a travel app that could be used across the whole journey would greatly improve their overall travel experience and convince them that their information is all in one place
• 41 percent of travelers favor a travel app that would lessen their stress around travel
• 62 percent of travelers would be more inclined to use an app to collect and save their health data if a travel company partnered with a trusted healthcare company

Amadeus takes a routine checkpoint on traveler viewpoints and concerns to help the industry restore travel in the most effective way. The “2020 Rethink Travel” survey unveiled how technology could help to enhance traveler’s courage, and Amadeus revisited this question to see how traveler’s courage has developed since September 2020. The 91 percent of travelers who now say technology will enhance their confidence to travel rise from 84 percent in September 2020.

When asked which technology would improve courage to travel in the next 12 months, mobile solutions were highlighted as a popular choice, with the best three technologies including:

• Mobile applications that provide on-trip notifications, announcements, and alerts (45 percent)
• Contactless mobile transactions (e.g., Apple or Google Pay, Paypal, Venmo) (44 percent)
• Mobile phone boarding (e.g., having the boarding pass on your phone) (47 percent)