Looking Forward to Future Travel

Thinking about planning future trips? You’re not alone. As parts of the country begin the process of opening up, data shows that travelers are looking forward to getting back on the road and in the skies.

According to the most recent Longwoods International tracking study of American travelers, about 70% of those surveyed have trips planned in the next six months.

Overall, 86% of travelers plan to visit a domestic destination, 4% an international one, and 2% plan on staying in the area where they live. Only 8% don’t intend to travel during the next six months.

Looking at the first trips domestic travelers intend to take, 74% will be by car and 26% will be by plane.  For those driving, 52% of those trips will be within 200 miles from home, while 48% will be further afield.

While the impact of the coronavirus pandemic continues to be a major factor regarding future travel, with 55% of respondents saying it will greatly impact their travel in the next six months, that percentage is down from 67% four weeks ago.

Some more key takeaways, as noted by CNBC, include:

• The Covid-19 pandemic has brought travel and tourism to a near-standstill, and no one is sure when it will restart.
• The new travel normal may mean a shift to vacation rentals over hotels, driving rather than flying, and an increase in the use of travel insurance and personal travel advisors.

The survey, supported by Miles Partnership, was fielded April 29, 2020 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.

See more information here.

If you’ve still got questions, the SYTA COVID-19: Educator Resource Guide for Student Group Travel offers expanded information on why it’s important to use a SYTA tour operator, an explanation of the group travel booking process, and useful safety information.