EFTI researchers are monitoring the impact of coronavirus on US travel

Dr. Lori Pennington-Gray and PhD candidate Danielle Barbe surveyed more than 500 American travelers to understand their travel intentions facing the recent coronavirus outbreak. Two studies were done, one on January 26 and 27 and the second one on February 7 to 9. A third round of the research happened in March 3 and 4 and shows another increase in concerns.

The first results showed around 20% of travelers were concerned with air travel thanks to the outbreak, while on the second round 33% or travelers affirmed that air travel should be avoided. The percentage of respondents who believed their chances of being exposed to coronavirus doubled from 20% to 40% in the two-week interval.

Results for both studies were published at the University of Florida News and can be found here:

Dr. Pennington-Gray and Danielle are part of the Tourism Crisis Management Initiative, the only tourism focused academic crisis management institute in the world, housed under EFTI.