How long will it take for people to dare to travel again?

An IATA study indicates that the recovery will begin with domestic flights, but that international routes will take longer to reactivate

Travelers will give a lot of thought before getting back on a plane when the COVID-19 crisis is overcome. According to a study by the International Air Transport Association (IATA), 40% of passengers will wait six months or more to travel again once the containment of the new coronavirus is announced.

The union of air carriers carried out the survey at the beginning of this month in eleven countries, including the United States, Canada, and Great Britain, where a good part of the tourism that the Dominican Republic receives comes from.

The study indicates that 28% of the respondents said that they will wait six months or more to travel, while 8% will wait at least one year and 4% answered that they are not even considering getting on a plane in the near future. About 47% said they will wait a month or more to travel, while a small portion of about 14% said they will not wait to get back on a plane.

Although more than half will wait for a little while before returning to travel, there is another important portion that won’t wait and that is why airlines are projecting a half recovery, if at the end of this year. Everything will depend on the recovery of passenger confidence, which will be crucial to reviving this sector.

IATA is estimating that domestic flights will begin to recover in the third quarter of the year, but that the openings of international flights will be slower. 42% of passengers travel on international routes, while 58% do so in domestic markets, the strongest being the United States and China.