COVID is no longer keeping people at home, with crazy citizens ditching face masks and test kits, and making more plans to travel than ever before.
The surprising results came from a new survey of 3,000 US adults conducted by OnePoll on behalf of AT&T, with 37% of respondents saying they already travel more now than they did pre-pandemic.
A third of those surveyed said they traveled to other parts of North America this summer, while nearly a quarter (24%) went to Europe. According to the survey, 18% of respondents also enjoyed a vacation in the Caribbean or Bahamas.
Of those who have already taken more trips, 44% revealed that they have more free time and 44% said that the lifting of travel restrictions related to the pandemic was a contributing factor.
Meanwhile, the majority of Americans don’t think face masks, sanitizer or COVID tests are crucial tools for travel.
A smartphone or tablet was considered the most essential travel item for US travelers, ahead of hand sanitizer (37%), face masks (36%) and at-home COVID tests (27%).
Additionally, countries or territories still imposing pandemic restrictions are likely to be avoided by millions of Americans suffering from COVID fatigue.
A significant 35% of respondents said that too many pandemic regulations – such as mandatory tests and masks – would be a deterrent to traveling abroad.
Meanwhile, the survey also examined the different communication styles used by Americans while traveling.
Unsurprisingly, Gen Z respondents favored text (54%), while Gen X preferred to communicate via phone calls.
Regardless of age, however, 60% would be completely lost if their phone is lost or stolen while traveling.
A large number of Americans said that they completely depended on their phones while on the move, accessing map applications (37%), Google Translate (28%), flight applications (27%) and l booking applications (26%). Meanwhile, more than a third (36%) of respondents are attached to social media, saying that they don’t feel like they had a real vacation unless they posted about it online.
