Americans across the country and ready to enjoy summer travel this year after COVID-19 vaccinations have been rolled out across the country and many states lifting travel restrictions completely after the past year. With the fourth of July this weekend, many Americans are slated to take long overdue trips.
After conducting a survey on travel sentiment in January of this year, IPX 1031 recently surveyed 1,500 Americans to re-visit the topic six months later to see how feelings towards travel have changed.
Post-COVID Travel Outlook in America
In January of 2021, the survey from IPX 1031 found that only 48% of Americans said that they were optimistic about traveling in 2021. 27% reported that they were not optimistic about traveling in 2021 and 25% said they were somewhat optimistic about traveling in 2021. Fast forward to June of 2021 and the percentage of Americans who are now optimistic about traveling in 2021 jumped to 85%. 9% were somewhat optimistic about traveling in 2021 and only 6% said they were not optimistic about travel resuming this year. The survey also found that 51% of travelers are concerned that they will have to cancel or reschedule travel plans this year due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
Post-Covid Vacation Plans
The next part of the travel survey from IPX asked American’s travelers whether or not they actually planned to travel this year. In January of this year 58% of surveyed respondents said they planned to travel this year. 11% reported they would not be traveling this year and another 31% said they were unsure. Fast forward again to June of this year and the percentage of Americans who plan to travel this year has jumped to 75%, a gain of nearly 20% points in less than six months’ time. 16% said they were not sure yet if they would travel this year and only 9% said they would not travel in 2021 due to COVID- 29.
Of the 9% who are not planning to travel this year, these are the top reasons they listed for not traveling in 2021:
1. I do not feel safe traveling due to the COVID-19 pandemic (64%)
2. I do not have the budget to travel currently (46%)
3. I will not travel because of travel/flying restrictions (27%)
4. I will not travel due to dining/entertainment restrictions (21%)
5. I cannot take the time off work currently (13%)
Not only are more Americans more optimistic about traveling and have plans to travel this year, another 55% said they already have their trips booked to travel this year. Among the 75% of plan to vacation this year, 71% said they plan to travel within the United States. According to the travel survey from IPX 1031, the average number of trips planned this year for the typical American traveler is 2.5 trips. The average length of trips is 4 days on average.
Listed below is a full breakdown of when Americans plan to travel in 2021:
- I plan to travel during the summer (36%)
- I plan to travel in the fall (23%)
- I plan to travel in the winter (16%)
- I plan to travel in 2022 instead of 2021 (13%)
- I am not sure when I will travel again (12%)
Vacation budgets for 2021 travel
When asked about what travel budgets looked like for the typical American this year, 75% who plan to vacation this year report that they plan to spend more money on travel this year than they normally would. For many Americans, the reason for that is because they were unable to travel over the past year and half because of the COVID-19 pandemic. 59% of respondents have budgeted $2,000 or more for a trip this year. 44% of American travelers said they plan to pay for the majority of their vacation with a credit card this year. 34% said they would play for their vacation with a debit card this year. 20% said they primarily use cash to pay for their travels in 2021.
Many Americans have been saving for a while to take an upcoming vacation this summer. Listed below is the full breakdown of how long Americans have been saving to travel this year:
- 1-3 months (29%)
- 3-6 months (38%)
- 6 months – 1 year (13%)
- More than 1 year (9%)
- I have not been saving for a vacation (11%)
Vacation homes and accommodations for traveling in 2021
So now that we have discussed above that more Americans plan on to travel more this summer, but the question arises where they will be staying during their travels. Listed below are the top responses for the most preferred accommodations for American travelers.
1. Hotel (38% of travelers)
2. Short-term rental (16% of travelers)
3. Vacation home, timeshare (14% of travelers)
4. With family (13% of travelers)
5. Motel (8% of travelers)
6. Camping/RV (8% of travelers)
7. With friends (3% of travelers)
Flying post COVID-19
The next part of the survey from IPX 1031 asked whether or not travelers feel safe flying. In January of 2021, only 48% of surveyed respondents said they feel safe flying right now. As of June 2021, that number rose to 71% who said they feel save traveling right now. 46% of surveyed respondents said that they flew on a plane in 2020. 55% of those surveyed said they believe travel will return without restrictions by the end of 2021. Not everyone is eager about traveling resuming so soon. 38% of surveyed respondents said they feel that it is not safe for people to travel until they are fully vaccinated.
Listed below is the full breakdown of whether or not Americans will travel before getting vaccinated with the COVID-19 vaccine:
- I will travel before getting vaccinated (16%)
- I will travel after getting vaccinated (32%)
- I am already vaccinated (43%)
- I do not plan on getting vaccinated (8%)
48% of those surveyed have gone a year or longer without taking a vacation. 57% said they have unused PTO last year. 56% will have unused PTO by the end of the year.
Infographic by: ipx1031
