- After two years of border closures, Travelport's latest survey finds people 
prioritize travel over entertainment, shopping and even self-care

Travelport [ http://www.travelport.com/ ], a global technology company that 
powers bookings for hundreds of thousands of travel suppliers worldwide, today 
revealed a new survey that highlighted excitement to travel in 2022. In a study 
commissioned by Travelport and conducted by Toluna Research, thousands of 
respondents from seven different countries said they'd even be willing to give 
up some of their favorite things for six months or longer in order to travel.

Logo - 
https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1481912/TRAVELPORT_LOGO_BLACK_CMYK_Logo.jpg 

    - 71% of respondents would forgo concerts 
    - 64% would stop buying new clothes 
    - 63% would give up spa treatments 
    - 60% would skip the cinema 
    - 53% would give up playing sports 
    - 36% would stop dining at restaurants

"While the last two+ years have been a significant challenge, the global travel 
industry recovered more than 50% of its gross activity by the end of 2021," 
said Jen Catto, Chief Marketing Officer for Travelport. "Should this trend 
continue along the same trajectory, it could reach 85% recovery by the end of 
this year. The pent-up desire to travel is strong. Our latest survey findings 
clearly demonstrate this, highlighting how many indulgences people are willing 
to sacrifice in order to travel again."

However, not every aspect of the travel experience received the same level of 
enthusiasm. A notable experience gap emerged between the high degree of 
enjoyment respondents get from going on holiday and the frustration they 
experienced when booking that very same trip.

    - 43% of US respondents, the largest travel region, do not find booking
      travel enjoyable 
    - But 95% of that same group enjoy the experience of being on holiday

Globally, travel was ranked as the number one most enjoyable activity, but when 
it came to shopping for travel, the industry dropped to the number four spot, 
trailing the worlds of clothing, restaurants and electronics. And this isn't 
just a generational issue. A quarter of Gen Z respondents agreed the complexity 
of searching, comparing and booking travel offers just isn't fun.

On average, travelers' visit a whopping 38 different websites [ 
https://advertising.expedia.com/about/press-releases/retail-and-travel-site-visitation-aligns-consumers-plan-and-book-vacation-packages/ 
]  before booking their trip. Other industries have steamed ahead in terms of 
simplicity and innovation, evolving with their consumers' sophisticated 
expectations, and shifting perceptions over time. Study respondents found the 
travel industry to be an outlier, perceiving it to be even less innovative than 
the finance industry.

"Shopping for travel is complicated, which is why Travelport has made 
simplifying the complex travel ecosystem its mission," continued Catto. "With 
demand for travel rebounding at its strongest pace since the pandemic began, 
it's imperative the industry listens to its customers. Now is the time for us 
to fix travel retail, putting consumer convenience, digital experience, and 
breadth of choice above all. By restoring clarity, confidence, and fun to 
travel shopping, we can grow trust, generate repeat business and inspire true 
loyalty – the benchmark of successful modern retailing."

This study was conducted by Toluna Research, polling more than 2,000 
respondents from the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, Hong Kong SAR, 
India, Singapore and the United Arab Emirates. For more information, visit: 
Travelport.com/Retailing-Report [ https://www.travelport.com/retailing-report ] 
or contact: press@travelport.com.

About Travelport
Travelport [ https://www.travelport.com/ ] is a global technology company that 
powers bookings for hundreds of thousands of travel suppliers worldwide. Buyers 
and sellers of travel are connected by the company's next generation 
marketplace, Travelport+, which simplifies how brands connect, upgrades how 
travel is sold, and enables modern digital retailing. Travelport is 
headquartered in the United Kingdom and operates in more than 180 countries 
around the world.

SOURCE: Travelport