Study Reveals Americans’ Lack of Concern About Lost and Stolen Passports
Washington, DC (PRWEB) May 02, 2014 -- Recent terrorist and security concerns don’t appear to be wavering American’s confidence in travel, particularly when it comes to fears they might have about lost or stolen passports. This according to a new study commissioned by Mandala Research.
The survey, which polled 1,000 respondents representative of the US population regarding issues of lost or stolen passports, revealed that 87 percent of respondents are confident in their ability to protect their passport during travel. This comes at a time where the issue of fraudulent passport usage came to light when it was reported that two passengers on the recently crashed Malaysia Airlines flight 370 were traveling with stolen passports.
“Americans love to travel, but when it comes to matters of personal security and identity theft, these are hot button issues that raise concerns. We undertook the study to see if passport theft was a deterrent to international travel, and the numbers indicate it isn’t,” said Laura Mandala, managing director of Mandala Research. “In fact, despite the widespread media coverage around identity theft, only 2 percent of respondents reported a lost or stolen passport.”
In addition to showcasing traveler confidence when it comes to protecting their own passports, of the respondents who lost their passports, all of them felt it was easy to report the passport stolen and get a replacement.
“Just about half of NTA’s tour company members package travel outbound from North America,” said Catherine Prather, NTA interim president. “Whereas domestic travel is very important to our membership, many clients of our operators also want to travel internationally. Travelers are growing more and more resilient, and knowing passport theft is not a deterrent is helpful information. NTA appreciates that Mandala Research is gathering the kind of data that enables our members to conduct business with greater confidence.”
”Understanding travelers’ frustration or worry points is of significant value to destinations, governments and the global tourism industry. Mandala Research is committed to providing data to ensure sustainable global tourism growth,” Mandala said.
About the 2014 US Traveling Marketing Passport Study
The 2014 US Traveling Marketing Passport Study is based on interviews with 1,000 respondents representative of the United States population. In April 2014, 1,000 respondents were interviewed by TNS Global. Survey results have a margin of error of ±4 percentage points at the 95 percent confidence level. The data was cross-tabulated by type of trip, age and gender. For more information about the study please contact Laura(at)MandalaResearch(dot)com.
About Mandala Research
Mandala Research is one of the leading travel and tourism research companies in the world. The firm has pioneers the “firsts” of many niche studies in the travel industry and offers extensive knowledge of several growing demographics and trends, including U.S. Hispanic travelers, wine and culinary tourism, Gay and Lesbian travelers, The International Shopping Traveler, Travelers from Growth and Emerging Markets and the African American Traveler. Mandala’s clients include destinations, major travel brands, government agencies, associations and more, with extensive expertise in brand tracking, brand equity and brand identity research. For more information visit http://www.MandalaResearch.com.
Paul Wilke, Upright Position Communications, +1 (415) 881-7995, [email protected]
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