Americans are planning more trips now than at any time in since the start of the pandemic, a new study says.
A report from Destination Analysts finds that nearly 80% of American travelers have trips currently planned in 2022. The average number of anticipated leisure trips Americans plan to take over the next 12 months has hit its highest peak during the pandemic era at 3.1.
Their January study also finds that 72.8% of Americans expressed higher levels of excitement for their prospective travel future; the highest level it’s been since the Omicron wave began.
More than 70% have engaged in travel planning and/or dreaming in the past week alone; a seven point increase over December. In addition, more Americans now say that travel will be a spending priority in the next three months (58.2%; a three month high).
At the same time, Destination Analysts said the percentage of Americans concerned about personally contracting the virus rose more than seven points in the last two weeks. climbing to 65.4%. That exceeds any levels during the Delta variant, officials said.
In terms of interest in specific activities in the next 12 months, Americans are most interested in enjoying scenic beauty, warm weather outdoor activities, road trips, dining in regional restaurants, visiting historical sites and enjoying street food during their travels.
Nearly one-half (44.6%) of American travellers have frequently worried that people are giving up on COVID safety when they shouldn’t, while 30% admit to frequently feeling exhausted in the past month from having to deal with the COVID-19 situation and 35% say they have frequently had the thought that “life should go back to normal” despite the pandemic.
Optimism that the pandemic will improve in the next month has soared 10-points in the last two weeks to 30.6%.
