After having revealed in its last wave of the Tourism Barometer that Spanish destinations offered a high level of health security for travellers (7.7), Braintrust has carried out a new analysis of the level of security perceived by travellers in two other key components within the trip: the means of transport and the type of accommodation.
Changes to travel elements due to COVID-19
The health crisis caused by COVID-19 has brought many changes to our daily lives. We have had to adapt to a new way of relating to each other, of shopping, of working and, of course, of travelling.
According to data from the new wave of Braintrust's Tourism Barometer, Spaniards state that the elements of travel that will change the most as a result of the health crisis will be destinations (53 percent) and type of travel (43 percent) followed by means of transport and type of accommodation (40 percent).
Moreover, these tourists whose travel habits will be affected by the pandemic will prefer destinations with fewer crowds (68 percent) and less health risk (65 percent); types of travel related to nature and mountains (93 percent); rural accommodation (84 percent) and small hotels (73 percent); and as a means of travel, their own car (96 percent). The figures reaffirm the obvious: travellers mainly seek to feel safe from contagion, and not only at the destination, but also in the place where they stay, in the environment in which they travel, the restaurants they visit, etc.
Ángel García Butragueño, co-director of the Braintrust Tourism Barometer and head of Tourism and Leisure emphasises: "It is of vital importance to take advantage of the potential opportunities that the crisis brings, travellers are going to experience changes in the way they travel, they are going to choose different destinations, different ways of moving around and places to stay in which they had not considered until now, those who are able to adapt to the new post-COVID traveller, who is willing to travel again but with the appropriate security measures, will be able to attract new customers and retain them even after the crisis is over".
Tourist accommodation is safe for Spanish travellers
Taking care of each and every element of the value chain is key to keeping the tourism sector afloat, and guaranteeing security has become a top priority. A large part of the traveller's experience depends on the accommodation sector, which is why hotels, rural houses, flats, etc. have had to get down to work and implement all kinds of measures to guarantee the safety of their guests.
According to the data provided by Braintrust in its Tourism Barometer, Spanish accommodation has passed the exam with flying colours.
In an analysis of the experience of travellers in the accommodation visited, Braintrust has measured the three main variables on which most work has had to be done in the wake of the COVID-19 crisis to ensure a satisfactory stay in their establishments. On the one hand, the level of health safety of the accommodation was rated by tourists with 7.9, while hygiene was rated with 8.3 and capacity control with 7.6.
Measuring this experience by type of accommodation, the highest level of health safety was perceived by visitors to beach hotels and small hotels (8.1). In terms of hygiene, small establishments and rural hotels (8.5) as well as beach hotels (8.4) were again the most highly rated. Finally, the best capacity control, which guarantees social distance, was carried out by both urban (7.9) and beach hotels (7.8).
Spanish travellers also feel safe when they are on the move
Braintrust has carried out the same measurement of the traveller experience at the level of means of transport, and as with accommodation, they have been highly rated by tourists.
Health safety in the means by which tourists travel to holiday destinations is rated 7.3, while hygiene is rated 7.6 and capacity control 6.8.
Focusing on the different means of transport, we find that both the train and the bus obtain the best scores in terms of health safety (7.6 and 8.0 respectively), hygiene (7.8 and 7.9) and also in terms of capacity control (7.1 and 7.5). The traditional airlines and low-cost airlines are the ones with the greatest room for improvement.
For José Manuel Brell, co-director of Braintrust Tourism Barometer and Partner in charge of studies and quantitative models: "The pandemic will be with us for a reasonable time, so adapting the offer to health needs will be highly valued by travellers, who want to continue travelling. In this sense, measuring the Customer Experience has become a priority, even more so than in the times before COVID 19, and that is our recommendation to the sector, to measure and communicate the perception of travellers to continue building trust, a key factor for the revival of the industry".
