StudentUniverse reveals only 4 per cent of Students have cancelled travel plans following terrorist attacks.
Despite a spate of recent terrorist attacks, more than half of young people in the UK (56 per cent) say they would not cancel travel plans to a destination that has been impacted by terrorism.*
A survey by StudentUniverse, the world’s leading travel booking site for students and youth, found that 56 per cent of students said they were either unlikely to cancel or would definitely not cancel plans to travel to a destination affected by terrorism. Only two per cent said they would definitely cancel a planned trip if it was to a destination that was the victim of a terror attack or incident.
Similarly, only four per cent said they had previously cancelled a trip to a destination where an attack had recently taken place.
Additionally, only seven per cent of students cited cancelling a trip due to fears about the risk of a terrorist attack or incident taking place in the location they planned to visit, proving students’ resiliency and their commitment to travel, even in the face of adversity.
When asked how safe they would feel visiting a destination that had been victim to a recent terror attack, 13 per cent said they would feel more safe visiting that destination and 32 per cent said they would feel neither more or less safe.
Most notably, when examining responses from students to these same questions in the days immediately following the terrorist attack in London Bridge (June 2, 2017), some interesting trends emerged:
- No respondents stated they would cancel a trip to a destination that was victim to a terror attack or incident (compared to 11 per cent of the general UK survey respondents).
- The number of respondents that said they would definitely not cancel was at 15 per cent (compared to 11 per cent of the general UK survey respondents).
- The respondents who said they felt “neither more or less safe” to visit a destination that had been victim to a recent terrorist attack increased from 31 per cent to almost half (46 per cent) of respondents.
Similarly, StudentUniverse’s global bookings data (outlined below) shows week-on-week and month-on-month bookings in cities affected by terrorist incidents in recent years:
| City | Incident | Week-on-week bookings increase/ decrease | Month-on-month bookings increase/ decrease |
| Boston | Marathon bombings on April 15 2013 | +67% | +26% |
| Sydney | Hostage siege on 15-16 Dec 2014 | +38% | +63% |
| Paris | Terror attack on 13 Nov 2015 | No change | +27% |
| Brussels | Bombings on 22 March 2016 | -84% | +2% |
| Tel Aviv | Shooting in a café on 8 June 2016 | +22% | +12% |
| Nice | Bastille day truck attack on 14 July 2016 | +267% | +87% |
| Berlin | Truck attack on 19 December 2016 | -14% | +51% |
| London | Westminster attacks on 22 March 2017 | +19% | -14% |
| St. Petersburg | Metro attack on 3 April 2017 | -75% | -87% |
Mike Cleary, global managing director at StudentUniverse, said: “Students are less likely to cancel their travel plans because of world events than other travellers might be. These students are often embarking on once-in-a-lifetime experiences – from backpacking adventures to Gap Years to semesters abroad – and refuse to give up their opportunity to have these travel experiences. While we certainly encourage students to be vigilant and heed all government travel warnings, we are happy to see students forging ahead with their global adventures.”
Kellie K, one of the survey respondents, said: “I would not change my travel plans because of world events. I am a college student lucky enough to have the ability to travel while I have little responsibilities and would not avoid traveling because of the things happening around the world.
“I am about to travel to a country that has had tragic events in the recent past which causes me to be more alert and cautious, but I believe it will still be an amazing adventure.”
*Notes to editors: Survey commissioned by StudentUniverse between April and June 2017, 1,756 respondents .
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About StudentUniverse
StudentUniverse is the world’s leading travel booking site for students and youth. Through negotiations with a network of global partners, StudentUniverse offers discounted pricing and terms on flights, hotels and tours. Its Travel Services division also handles complex itineraries, custom designed gap year experiences and group travel requests. StudentUniverse also operates Journeys are Made @ GapYear.com, the world’s largest gap year inspiration travel platform.
StudentUniverse launched in the UK in 2013 and was acquired by Flight Centre Travel Group in 2015. StudentUniverse is headquartered in Boston with offices in London, Toronto, New York and the Philippines. StudentUniverse believes that travel is essential to a modern education. Millions of students use the service every year.
For more information go to www.studentuniverse.co.uk, www.facebook.com/StudentUniverseUK, www.twitter.com/studentu_uk or www.instagram.com/studentuniverseuk.
