• The biggest fear when traveling is an unexpected lockdown whilst away from home
• The desire to travel was highest in the Czech Republic – with 80% of respondents stating they plan to travel during 2022
• Approximately 60% of those surveyed wish to travel within Europe in 2022

28 January 2022 –  Kiwi.com conducted consumer research in four major Central European markets – the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland and Hungary – to understand travelers’ take on vaccines and their hopes and fears for traveling in 2022.

The results from the four surveys showed that the biggest fear among travelers is an unexpected lockdown in the country they are visiting.  More than half of Czech (55%) and Slovak (54%) respondents are afraid of being stuck in a foreign country, while in Hungary and Poland this particular concern drops to 33% and 31% respectively.

For 54% of Czech travelers and 47% of Slovaks who responded to the Kiwi.com survey, having the possibility to travel abroad is the key motivator to get vaccinated.  In the Czech Republic, those who got vaccinated were more open to foreign travel (69%) than those without vaccination (54%).  In Slovakia, the number of unvaccinated travelers that were open to travel was just 32% compared to 58% of the vaccinated participants. 

In Poland, the main reason for considering vaccination is their health, while almost one fifth of Poles consider their willingness to travel a reason for getting a vaccination against COVID-19. 39% of respondents from the largest Polish cities believe that vaccination against COVID-19 should be obligatory for travelers.

When it comes to Hungary, over half (52%) of respondents chose to get vaccinated for health reasons, with their second most important incentive being the opportunity to travel and move freely.  Of those surveyed, who have yet to receive a vaccination, only 2 in 10 are considering getting vaccinated in the future.  In this unvaccinated group their motivation to have the vaccine is more commonly about freedom of movement and traveling (43%) than it is due to health reasons (19%), social solidarity, pressure from the environment (14-14%), or school or work (10%).

Travel planning for 2022 is already underway

With the rollout of the vaccines and the mutations being controlled, the confidence in traveling is increasing steadily. 80% of Czech nationals surveyed say they plan to travel abroad in 2022.  Europe was shown to be the key holiday destination of most markets with 65% of Czechs, 60% of Slovaks and 62% of Poles planning to head there this year. Hungary however saw 38% of respondents stating they would make longer distance travel plans.

“The opportunity to visit foreign destinations more freely and to protect one’s health are the biggest motivations for vaccinated travelers and are also crucial considerations for those undecided about vaccination. For them, traveling more freely is the greatest motivation of all,” says Eliška Řezníček Dočkalová, Director of Customer Experience at Kiwi.com.

– Ends –

*Methodology

Poland: The survey conducted by ARC Rynek i Opinia, commissioned by Kiwi.com, was carried out using the CAWI method on a representative sample of N = 1006 Poles aged 18-65 and additionally in the group of residents of the largest Polish cities (cities with more than 500,000 inhabitants) N = 300.  The research was carried out in December 2021 and January 2022.

Hungary: A representative survey of 1018 people was conducted in December 2021, representative of smartphone owners aged 18-59 in Hungary by age, gender, education, and place of residence.

Slovakia: The STEM/MARK survey was conducted in December 2021, n=1010

Czech Republic: The STEM/MARK survey was conducted in December 2021, n=1008

About Kiwi.com

Kiwi.com is a leading travel tech company headquartered in the Czech Republic, employing over 1,000 people worldwide. Kiwi.com’s innovative Virtual Interlining algorithm allows users to combine flights across legacy and low-cost airlines into one single itinerary. Kiwi.com performs 2 billion price checks per day across 95% of global flight content enabling customers to find better route options and prices other search engines can’t see. Fifty million searches are carried out every day on Kiwi.com’s website and over 40,000 seats are sold daily.

Media Contacts

Kiwi.com
Elena Sokolnikova, PR & Communications Consultant, Kiwi.com
[email protected]