(Photo Credits: Sebastian Coman Photography from Pexels)
Where were you supposed to spend your summer 2020 guys, had the coronavirus pandemic not struck the world? Were you supposed to attend a conference abroad? Perhaps you were supposed to spend a two-week long vacation in Europe?
Certainly, COVID-19 has derailed our 2020 travel plans but that doesn’t mean we can stop planning or well, stop dreaming about travel post-pandemic.
A study conducted among LGBTQ+ travelers revealed that 71% of the American respondents plan to wait until we have a COVID-19 vaccine available before they travel again. Conversely, 60% of the European respondents (the younger ones in particular) said that they will “simply wait until travel restrictions are lifted” regardless of vaccine availability.
Further, the result of the study showed that Americans prefer domestic travel at 66% while 47% of the European study participants would love to travel abroad as soon as countries reopen borders.
Respondents who are not ready to travel yet (16%) as well as those who don’t know or those who remain undecided (also at 16%) said that the following are the factors that will help them travel again and we quote:
- Discovery of a vaccine against COVID-19
- Lift of travel bans
- Approval of new drugs against COVID-19
- Improvement of financial situation
- Other
When asked how they plan to travel in the months to come, 65% of the respondents said they plan to go on a road trip. Specifically, 75% of the LGBTQ+ American respondents and 62% of Europeans prefer to travel by car. This is as opposed to those who prefer to travel by air at 60% (number is higher for young adults aged 25 to 44 though at 64%). Majority of the LGBTQ+ travelers or 92% of them however, revealed they are staying away from cruise ships in the upcoming months.
LGBTQ+ respondents also shared their top three destinations and 24% answered the US; 13% preferred Spain especially Barcelona, Gran Canaria, and Madrid; while 9% said they love France specifically Paris, Brittany, and the Atlantic Coast.
Check out below the top 10 most popular destinations for American LGBTQ+ travelers with Palm Springs in the number one spot while Las Vegas is on the 10th.
- Palm Springs
- Florida
- New York City
- Fort Lauderdale
- Provincetown
- Puerto Vallarta
- San Francisco
- New Orleans
- Mexico
- Las Vegas
European LGBTQ+ travelers on the other hand, specified the following as their top 10 destinations:
- Spain
- France
- Italy
- Greece
- Gran Canaria
- Portugal
- Barcelona
- Germany
- Berlin
- Sitges
Read the study in full here.
Speaking of travel, well first off I don’t have the money to do any extensive traveling. My friend and I are still planning to travel, and carry on life as normal as possible. We are hoping at this point to go up to South Dakota next month, and we also travel to many different cities here in the Midwest area. This stupid virus isn’t going to stop us. The only thing that hinders us is that so much of everything is closed and limited. But I have found concerts, casinos, dining room restaurants, and even amusement parks that are open.… Read more »
“Covid won’t be part of my life” it already is part of your life.
It’d be interesting to see how this stacks up.along side Strsight’s plans. Except maybe for Provincetown, would there be much difference?