• by Richard Whitman , Columnist, July 10, 2019

Safety is becoming more important to travelers when choosing destinations to visit, as well as deciding whether to travel internationally, according to a new report from MMGY Travel Intelligence.

That makes a lot of sense, especially when you consider all the global mayhem reported in the media on a daily basis. The world can be a dangerous place.

In fact, cost and safety are the two most significant barriers to international travel for Americans, according to the latest "Portrait Of American Travelers" survey. These are significantly more important obstacles than concerns about language and communication, travel time to and from the destination, and access to quality health care while traveling.

In particular, millennials’ desire for safety in a destination rose the most this year, up six percentage points from 79% in 2018 to 85% in 2019, per the report.

Sixty percent of American travelers believe tourism overcrowding will have a significant impact on destinations they choose to visit within the next 5 to 10 years, while 48% agree that climate change will have a similar impact on what destinations they choose to visit.

The sharing economy continues to disrupt the travel industry, and its growing appeal shows no signs of slowing down. The percentage of American travelers using sharing economy accommodations increased 45% in just the last year. And it is expected to increase again in the year ahead, with 34% of respondents saying they are likely to use sharing accommodations during a future vacation.

Factors such as cost and the allure of staying somewhere unique are motivating those travelers.

The resurgence of the road trip continues to gain momentum, albeit with some new variations. One new twist: what MMGY calls the “wings and wheels” trip, where travelers fly to a starting point and road trip from there.

More on the report can be found here.