DfT surveys on international travel during COVID-19: Wave 8 (10 to 13 December 2021)
Updated 26 September 2024
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Background
The Global Travel Taskforce (GTT) set out recommendations for progressing a risk-based reopening of international travel. Central to the framework enabling the safe reopening of international travel over the summer of 2021 was the introduction of a “traffic-light” system. As part of this traffic light system, passengers were subject to testing and isolation travel requirements. To gain a better understanding of passengers’ future travel attitudes at that point in time, and how requirements such as testing and isolation may influence those attitudes, DfT commissioned Ipsos MORI to conduct public attitude research.
The aim of this project was to support ongoing work on COVID-19 and maximising the Department’s contribution in promoting recovery in international travel. Specifically, the project contributes to building an evidence base to understand how COVID-19 affects public attitudes towards future international travel.
This research was designed to be a snapshot of people’s attitudes at the time of completing the survey, reflecting people’s views on major public announcements or policy changes to international travel. Questions demonstrate people’s best estimate for their future intentions at the time they were surveyed.
The time of fieldwork (10 to 13 December 2021) took place after the simplification of the UK border travel restrictions which took force from 1 October 2021. The green/ amber/ red traffic light system was substituted by red and non-red (rest of the world) categorisation. In late November (26 November – 7 December) several countries were added to the red list due to the risk posed by the Omicron variant. All passengers arriving in the UK were required to complete a passenger locator form before arrival in the UK had to have proof of a negative COVID-19 test, taken no more than 2 days before departure.
Those who were vaccinated and arriving in the UK from a non-red list country were only required to take a COVID-19 test by Day 2 of arrival to the UK and self-isolate on return until they received a negative PCR test result, while the unvaccinated were required to provide proof of a negative COVID-19 test before arrival, take COVID-19 tests on day 2 and day 8 of arrival to the UK, and self-isolate for 10 days.
For countries on the red list, there were travel bans in place. Entry to the UK could be refused for travellers who had visited a country on the red list, except for British or Irish nationals, or those with UK residency rights. Those who had been in a red list country in the 10 days prior to arrival in the UK were required to book and pay for a 10-day managed quarantine stay in a specially selected hotel.
Methodology
The survey was commissioned by DfT and was conducted by Ipsos MORI using their online panel. Quotas were set to secure a nationally representative sample of 2,263 UK adults aged between 16 to 75. Data was weighted to the known UK population profile. This wave of research was undertaken 10 to 13 December 2021.
The ethical implications to this project were minimal as it did not collect, share or analyse sensitive personal information. Additionally, participants were able to give fully informed consent and were able to withdraw at any time. Data protection GDPR considerations were met by ensuring the project did not collect any special category or personally identifiable data for all waves.
Wave 8 had a sample of 2,263 UK adults aged 16 to 75. Fieldwork was conducted between 10 and 13 December 2021. Fieldwork took place after the simplification of the UK border travel restrictions which took force from 1 October 2021. The green/ amber/ red traffic light system was substituted by red and non-red (rest of the world) categorisation. In late November (26 November – 7 December) several countries were added to the red list due to the risk posed by the Omicron variant. All passengers arriving in the UK were required to complete a passenger locator form before arrival in the UK had to have proof of a negative COVID-19 test, taken no more than 2 days before departure.
Those who were vaccinated and arriving in the UK from a non-red list country were only required to take a COVID-19 test by Day 2 of arrival to the UK and self-isolate on return until they received a negative PCR test result, while the unvaccinated were required to provide proof of a negative COVID-19 test before arrival, take COVID-19 tests on day 2 and day 8 of arrival to the UK, and self-isolate for 10 days.
For countries on the red list, there were travel bans in place. Entry to the UK could be refused for travellers who had visited a country on the red list, except for British or Irish nationals, or those with UK residency rights. Those who had been in a red list country in the 10 days prior to arrival in the UK were required to book and pay for a 10-day managed quarantine stay in a specially selected hotel.
Please be aware of the following caveats when reviewing this document:
- There are many uncertainties associated with international travel, so questions demonstrate people’s best estimate of their future intentions at the time they were surveyed. However, as the domestic and global context changes, there may be changes in people’s responses. Please be aware that findings presented here represent a snapshot of attitudes at the time of completing the survey.
- Please also be aware, percentages may not sum to 100% due to selecting multiple responses or due to rounding of percentages in single code responses.
- Some questions were asked to all participants, and some were asked to a filtered sample. Please keep this in mind when citing figures from this document. To reflect this, percentages and sample sizes for each question are given below tables or followed in brackets after statements.
Summary of Wave 8 findings
Wave 8 had a sample of 2,263 UK adults aged 16 to 75. Fieldwork was conducted between 10 and 13 December 2021. The time of fieldwork coincided with the simplification of the UK border travel restrictions which came into force from 4 October 2021. The green/ amber/ red traffic light system was substituted by red and non-red (rest of the world) categorisation. The summary findings are presented below.
- Approximately 1 in 10 (9%) of UK adults surveyed said they plan to travel outside of the UK for leisure in the next 3 months, while about a third (31%) of UK adults surveyed stated they do not plan to travel abroad for leisure within the next 12 months (n=2,263).
- Over 1 in 2 (55%) of UK adults surveyed (n=2,263) stated they were not planning to travel abroad for leisure at all between December 2021 to March 2022.
- The most common reason for not planning to travel abroad for leisure (n=1,234) during the period December 2021 to March 2022 was that people do not normally take a holiday abroad in this period (38% of respondents).
- Respondents were asked how likely they were to travel abroad for a holiday to red list and non-red list destinations between December 2021 to March 2022. Travel likelihood was higher for non-red list destinations than red list destinations.
- 1 in 4 (25%) of UK adults surveyed (n=2,236) said they would be likely to travel abroad to a destination not on the red list, compared to about 2 in 7 (14%) who said they would be likely to travel to a red list destination.
Full research findings
International leisure travel plans
Which of these best reflects your current plans to travel for leisure outside the UK?
| Response | Percentage of responses (%, all respondents) | Percentage of responses (%, those who travelled abroad for leisure in 2019) | Percentage of responses (%, those who travelled abroad by ferry for leisure in 2019) |
|---|---|---|---|
| I am planning to do this in the next 3 months | 9 | 15 | 24 |
| I am planning to do this in the next 3-6 months | 14 | 22 | 30 |
| I am planning to do this in the next 6-12 months | 25 | 35 | 29 |
| I am planning to do this at some time after the next 12 months | 13 | 16 | 19 |
| I will not travel for leisure outside of the UK within the next year | 31 | 13 | 13 |
| None of these | 9 | 4 | 5 |
| Don’t know | 7 | 6 | 3 |
Base: All respondents – 2,263; Travelled abroad for leisure in 2019 – 1,238; Travelled abroad for leisure by ferry in 2019 – 218. Respondents were able to select multiple answers, so answers do not sum to 100%. Fieldwork: 10 to 13 December 2021.
Approximately in 1 in 10 (9%) of UK adults surveyed said they plan to travel outside of the UK for leisure in the next 3 months. Intent to travel abroad was higher amongst those who travelled abroad for leisure in 2019, where about 1 in 7 (16%) said they plan to travel abroad for leisure in the next 3 months.
About a third (31%) of UK adults surveyed stated they do not plan to travel abroad for leisure within the next 12 months. Fewer (13%) of those who travelled abroad for leisure in 2019 stated they do not plan to travel abroad for leisure within the next 12 months.
Which months are you planning to travel abroad for leisure in?
| Response | Percentage of responses (% all planning to travel abroad for leisure or VFR within 12 months) | Percentage of responses (those who travelled abroad for leisure in 2019) |
|---|---|---|
| December 2021 | 7 | 8 |
| January 2022 | 8 | 8 |
| February 2022 | 10 | 11 |
| March 2022 | 11 | 11 |
| April 2022 | 12 | 12 |
| May 2022 | 15 | 17 |
| June 2022 | 17 | 16 |
| July 2022 | 17 | 19 |
| August 2022 | 16 | 17 |
| September 2022 | 10 | 11 |
| October 2022 | 8 | 8 |
| November 2022 | 4 | 3 |
| December 2022 | 3 | 3 |
| January 2023 onwards | 2 | 2 |
| Don’t know/not sure yet | 6 | 6 |
Base: All those planning to travel abroad for leisure within 12 months – 1,009; Travelled abroad for leisure in 2019 – 812. Respondents were able to select multiple answers, so answers do not sum to 100%. Fieldwork: 10 to 13 December 2022.
Of those planning to travel abroad for leisure within 12 months of the fieldwork (December 2021), the most common months that respondents planned to travel in included May (15%), June (17%), July (17%) and August (16%). These were also the most common months for those who had travelled abroad for leisure in 2019.
Travel intent during the period December 2021 to March 2022
Do you have any bookings for travel outside the UK between now and the end of March 2022 for leisure purposes, or not? Please select all that apply.
| Response | Percentage of responses (%, all respondents) | Percentage of responses (%, those who travelled abroad for leisure in 2019) |
|---|---|---|
| I’ve made a booking for travel or accommodation abroad | 13 | 21 |
| I’ve researched travel or accommodation intend to make a booking | 14 | 21 |
| I’ve not booked or researched travel abroad, but I will do in the future | 15 | 22 |
| At the moment, I am not planning to travel abroad outside of the UK for leisure at all | 55 | 36 |
| Don’t know | 6 | 5 |
Base: All respondents – 2,263; Travelled abroad for leisure in 2019 – 1,238. Participants could select more than one answer, so percentages do not sum to 100%. Fieldwork: 10 to 13 December 2021.
When asked about their plans for leisure travel abroad during the period December 2021 to March 2022, over 1 in 2 (55%) of UK adults surveyed stated that they were not planning to travel abroad for leisure at all during this period. Small proportions had made bookings for travel or accommodation (13%) and another (14%) reported that they had researched travel or accommodation and intended to book.
Compared with all UK adults, fewer (36%) of those who had travelled abroad for leisure in 2019 reported that they were not planning to travel abroad for leisure during December 2021 to March 2022.
What are the reasons why people are not planning to travel abroad for leisure this winter/spring (December 2021 – March 2022)?
| Response | Percentage of responses (%, all respondents) | Percentage of responses (%, those who travelled abroad for leisure in 2019) |
|---|---|---|
| I never normally take a holiday abroad during winter/spring | 38 | 29 |
| It is too soon to decide | 22 | 24 |
| I normally travel abroad for leisure in the winter/spring but will not this upcoming autumn/winter because of COVID-19. | 16 | 27 |
| I am planning to travel for leisure in the UK instead of going abroad | 9 | 9 |
| I plan to make a last-minute trip | 2 | 2 |
| Other | 8 | 7 |
| Don’t know | 5 | 3 |
Base: Those not planning to travel abroad for leisure between December 2021 and March 2022 – 1,234; Travelled abroad for leisure in 2019 – 458. Responses may not sum to 100% due to rounding. Fieldwork: 10 to 13 December 2021.
The most common reason for not planning to travel abroad for leisure during the period December 2021 to March 2022 was that people do not normally take a holiday abroad in this period (38% of respondents). About 1 in 5 (22%) of those not planning to travel abroad for leisure during the period December 2021 to March 2022 stated that it was too soon to decide. About 1 in 10 (9%) stated they were planning to travel in the UK for leisure instead of going abroad.
Amongst those who travelled abroad in 2019 for leisure, the most commonly cited reason for not planning to travel abroad for leisure during the period December 2021 to March 2022 was that they do not normally take a holiday abroad in this period (29% of respondents). About 1 in 4 (24%) of those not planning to travel abroad for leisure during the period December 2021 to March 2022 stated that it was too soon to decide. About 1 in 4 (27%) stated they COVID-19 was the main reason not to travel in this period even though they normally do it.
Travel likelihood up to January 2022 based on the tier system
Respondents were asked about their likelihood to travel abroad to red list and non-red list (Rest of World) countries. Anticipated, approximate, costs were given for COVID-19 testing. Respondents were given the travel requirements for entering the UK from a country on the red and Rest of World category destination.
How likely or unlikely do you think you would you be to travel to a country not on the red list between December 2021 and March 2022 for a holiday?
Respondents were told the requirements for entering the UK from a destination not on the red list, which varied by vaccination status.
Those who were fully vaccinated were told that they would need to complete a Passenger Locator Form (PLF) before arriving in the UK; pay for and have proof of a negative COVID-19 test before arriving in the UK (taken within the 2 days before travel to the UK); and pay for a COVID-19 PCR test after they arrive in the UK, no later than day 2 after arriving. Respondents were given anticipated costs for COVID-19 testing. Respondents in England were told that If the PCR test result is positive, they will need to self-isolate for 10 days after taking the test. The traveller can expect to pay about £65 for the pre-departure test and the post arrival test. At the time of fieldwork, it was not confirmed whether Scotland, Northern Ireland, and Wales would also allow the use of the cheaper tests, so respondents in these countries were told that the traveller could expect to pay £65 for the Day 2 test.
Those who were not fully vaccinated were told that they would need to: complete a Passenger Locator Form (PLF) before arriving in the UK; pay for and have proof of a negative COVID-19 test before arriving in the UK; and pay for two COVID-19 tests after they arrive in the UK, by day 2 and day 8 of arrival. These travellers would also need to self-isolate at home for 10 days on arrival. Respondents were told that “the traveller can expect to pay around £130 per adult or child over 10 and about £55 for each child aged 5 to 10 for the three tests (1 pre-departure and 2 on arrival). There would be no cost for children under 5.”
| Response | Percentage of responses (%, all respondents) | Percentage of responses (%, those who travelled abroad for leisure in 2019) | Percentage of responses (%, those who travelled abroad by ferry for leisure in 2019) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Very/fairly likely | 25 | 38 | 51 |
| Very/fairly unlikely | 58 | 58 | 46 |
| Not applicable, I never make these types of journeys abroad | 17 | 4 | 3 |
Base: All respondents – 2,263; Travelled abroad for leisure in 2019 – 1,238; Travelled abroad for leisure by ferry in 2019 – 218. Respondents were able to select multiple answers, so answers do not sum to 100%. Fieldwork: 10 to 13 December 2021.
Exactly 1 in 4 (25%) of UK adults surveyed said they would be likely to travel to a country not on the red list for a holiday between December 2021 and March 2022. This is lower than the about 4 in 10 (38%) of those who had travelled abroad for leisure in 2019 who said they were likely to.
Almost 6 in 10 (58%) of UK adults surveyed said they would be unlikely to travel to a country not on the red list for a holiday between December 2021 and March 2022. This is the same as the 58% of those who had travelled abroad for leisure in 2019 who said they were unlikely to travel to a country not on the red list.
You said you are unlikely to travel for leisure or to visit friends or relatives, to a country not on the red list between December 2021 and the end of March 2022. Which, if any, of these are your reasons for this?
| Response | Percentage of responses (%, all respondents) | Percentage of responses (%, those who travelled abroad for leisure a holiday in 2019) |
|---|---|---|
| Worried my destination would move onto the red list without enough notice | 31 | 34 |
| Concern about myself / family members / people I travel with getting COVID-19 overseas | 30 | 32 |
| Concerned that my destination of choice would impose travel restrictions on arrivals (e.g. testing, self-isolation, or vaccine requirements) | 30 | 35 |
| Worried about testing positive before returning to the UK and not being able to return home | 30 | 32 |
| Concern that the trip would be less enjoyable, e.g. social distancing and hygiene (e.g. mask, hand sanitiser) or that sights and venues won’t be open | 28 | 29 |
| Concern about COVID-19 tests being too expensive | 28 | 31 |
| Can’t / don’t want to self-isolate on arrival to the UK | 25 | 28 |
| Concern that I may bring a new COVID-19 variant back to the UK | 21 | 22 |
| Concerned about travel insurance or cancellations by travel providers | 20 | 23 |
| Increased processing times at the border (either in the UK or abroad) | 18 | 21 |
| I’m prioritising UK leisure trips | 15 | 15 |
| Worried people would judge me for travelling while COVID-19 is still a concern | 6 | 6 |
| Other | 7 | 6 |
| None of the above, I would never normally travel abroad during this time for leisure or to visit friends or relatives | 21 | 15 |
Base: Those who are not likely to travel to a country not on the red list for a holiday or to visit friends or relatives between December 2021 and March 2022. All respondents – 1,516, those who had travelled abroad for leisure in 2019 – 853. Respondents were able to select multiple answers, so answers do not sum to 100%. Fieldwork: 4 October to 6 October 2021.
The most common reason for not planning to travel for leisure to a country not on the red list during the period December 2021 and March 2022 was that the respondents were worried their destination would move onto the red list without enough notice (31%). Other concerns cited were about themselves / their family members / people they travel with getting ill overseas (30%), concerns about the destination country would impose travel restrictions on arrivals (e.g. testing, self-isolation, or vaccine requirements) (30%), and worried about testing positive before returning to the UK and not being able to return home (also cited by 30%).
Amongst those who travelled abroad in 2019 for leisure, the most commonly cited reasons for not planning to travel for leisure to a country not on the red list during the period December 2021 and March 2022 was that the respondents were Concerned that my destination of choice would impose travel restrictions on arrivals (35%). Another common reason was that respondents were worried their destination would move onto the red list without enough notice (34%). About 1 in 3 of those not planning to travel abroad for leisure to a non-red-list country during the period December 2021 and March 2022 reported concerns about themselves / their family members / people they travel with getting ill overseas (32%), concerns about the price of the COVID-19 tests (31%), and concerns about testing positive before returning to the UK and not being able to return home (32%).
How likely or unlikely do you think you would you be to travel to a red list destination between now and March 2022 for a holiday?
| Response | Percentage of responses (%, all respondents) | Percentage of responses (%, those who travelled abroad for leisure in 2019) | Percentage of responses (%, those who travelled abroad by ferry for leisure in 2019) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Very/fairly likely | 14 | 20 | 37 |
| Very/fairly unlikely | 65 | 73 | 56 |
| Not applicable, I never make these types of journeys abroad | 20 | 7 | 7 |
Base: All respondents – 2,263; Travelled abroad for leisure in 2019 – 1,238; Travelled abroad for leisure by ferry in 2019 – 218. Responses may not sum to 100% due to rounding. Fieldwork: 10 to 13 December 2021.
Respondents were told the requirements for entering the UK from a red tier destination: UK travellers would need to complete a Passenger Locator Form (PLF) before arriving in the UK; pay and have proof of a negative COVID-19 test before arriving in the UK, pay for a 10 day managed quarantine stay in a hotel, and pay for 2 COVID-19 tests after they arrive in the UK, by day 2 and day 8 of their arrival to the UK. Respondents were told this would cost about £2,285 for the first adult, £1,430 for additional adult or child aged 11 or older, and £325 for each child aged 5-11. There would be no cost for children under 5.
Around 1 in 7 (14%) of UK adults surveyed said they would be likely to travel to a country on the red list for a holiday in the period from fieldwork starting (10 December) to March 2022. This is lower than the 1 in 5 (20%) of those who had travelled abroad for leisure in 2019 who said they were likely to.
Around 2 in 3 (65%) of UK adults surveyed said they would be unlikely to travel to a country on the amber list for a holiday in the period from fieldwork starting (10 December) to March 2022. This is lower than the 73% of those who had travelled abroad for leisure in 2019 who said they were unlikely to.