NORTH AMERICA. Therapy dog services have become widely-offered and firmly-entrenched at North American airports to assuage inherent travel anxieties, according to a new report.
Vane Research has released a first-of-its-kind study demonstrating how and why this has come to be. Some 87 North American airports that have implemented therapy dog programmes have been identified in the study.
Vane Research, which advocates for wellness programmes as a foundation for airport commercial planning, says the services have proved to enhance the passenger journey and experience.
The report offers an in-depth assessment of airports with a focus on three areas: programme design; communication and customer experience; and customer feedback.
Vane Airport Media founder Cristina Alcivar explained that the use of therapy dogs was the latest wellness trend at airports. “Therapy dogs give a sense of wellbeing to travellers and leave them feeling better than when they arrived; less anxious, more relaxed and in a happier state of mind,” she said.
“Not all travel is for pleasure. The dogs comfort people traveling to funerals, as well as soldiers leaving home. They also support people stricken with anxiety over TSA security screenings.”
Alcivar noted that Canada was at the forefront of the introduction of therapy dog programmes. “When we look at the growth of [these programmes] in Canada from 2015, with the first programme starting at Edmonton International Airport, we have seen growth of +183% in Canadian programmes and +129% in the US since that time. The adoption rate in Canada is double that of the US.”
The full study, which features a foreword by The Moodie Davitt Report founder and Chairman Martin Moodie, is available to purchase here.
