According to the latest Longwoods International tracking study of American travelers, the steady decline of COVID-19 across the country will spur lots of family-related travel this fall and winter with seven in ten holiday travelers planning to spend time with friends and family.  Forty percent of travelers report they will spend time with family without any COVID-19 precautions or concern, 35% will gather with family but with some health and safety precautions (outdoor venues, mask wearing, etc.) and 32% will limit the size of family gathering this year. Only 4% reported they do not plan to attend family gatherings this fall and winter because of COVID-19 concerns.

“Fear of family travel and get-togethers has receded dramatically compared to the holiday period last year,” said Amir Eylon, President and CEO of Longwoods International.  “This is good news for the tourism industry, since visiting friends and family is typically the number one reason Americans travel to cities and states throughout the U.S.”

The number of travelers with trip plans in the next six months now stands at 91%, the highest level since the beginning of the pandemic and up from a low of 57% last December.  And the percentage of travelers planning to change upcoming travel plans because of COVID-19 has declined to 46%, down from a pandemic peak of 85% in April of last year.

The survey, supported by Miles Partnership, was fielded October 27, 2021 using a national sample randomly drawn from a consumer panel of 1,000 adults, ages 18 and over.  Quotas were used to match Census targets for age, gender, and region to make the survey representative of the U. S. population.