A survey of U.S. travellers suggests a major travel rebound is underway.
The latest monthly report from Longwoods International finds that the number of American travellers 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 travellers 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 study, undertaken on October 27, also found that 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 travellers 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.”
A study three weeks ago from a data and research company called Numerator found that 66%)of Canadian consumers expect to celebrate one or more upcoming holidays normally, compared to 80% of U.S. consumers.
The U.S. says it will open its borders to fully vaccinated international travellers on Nov. 8. Canadians have been able to fly to the U.S. during the pandemic, but the land border has been closed.
The New York Times reports that Skyscanner, a travel booking site, saw an 800 percent spike in bookings the day after the Nov. 8 opening announcement was made by the Biden administration. It also reports that Expedia saw a 28% increase in searches for U.S. hotels from the United Kingdom and a 24% increase from France.
Searches for outbound international travel from the U.S. on the booking application Hopper increased 24% since the announcement, the Times said.
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