With Vaccines Arriving, U.S. Trip Planning Surges

According to the latest Longwoods International tracking study of American travelers, 81% plan to travel in the next six months, an increase of 16 percentage points since mid-January and the highest level since the beginning of the pandemic last March.  Coupled with a surge in travel plans for the upcoming six months, the percentage of travelers who say that the coronavirus is greatly impacting their decision to travel during this time period has dropped to 40%, the lowest level since March 2020.
 
“The arrival of multiple coronavirus vaccines has reignited travel planning in the U.S.,” said Amir Eylon, President and CEO of Longwoods International.  “The travel industry recovery appears poised to track in synch with the success of the mass vaccination program now underway across America.”

Vaccines are top of mind for American travelers with two thirds saying the vaccine will impact their travel plans. More than a third of travelers do not plan to travel until they are vaccinated, and a fifth of travelers do not plan to travel until a majority of Americans have received the vaccine.

The survey, supported by Miles Partnership, was fielded February 3, 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.