Ready To Get Back On The Road

In its latest tracking study of American travellers, Longwoods International is reporting that trip intentions remain strong, with nine in ten planning to travel during the next six months.

It also found that 39% of travellers have their next trip planned in the next 60 days, setting up for a strong Spring Break travel season.

Longwoods International also said that equally encouraging, seven in ten travellers now feel safe traveling outside their community, with this result now reaching pre-Omicron levels.

Amir Eylon, president and CEO of Longwoods International, said that: “Spring and summer travel look strong for 2022. With COVID-19 restrictions and mandates being dropped across the country, most travellers are comfortable with these developments. This wave’s data confirms Americans are ready to move on from the pandemic and get back out on the road and in the air.”

As well, travellers are continuing to voice strong support for small, local-owner restauranteurs and retailers, many of whom have suffered significant business declines throughout the two-year pandemic.

The majority of travellers chose to shop local on vacation to support small, locally owned business and enjoy the unique experiences those businesses offer.

Travellers seek out local experiences when they visit a community, with the top information sources being online searches, followed by advice from friends, family and/or other visitors, and tips from locals to help them find the best of local offerings.

Other findings of note include:

• A resoundingly high 90% of American travellers report plans to travel in the next six months, with 23% planning in the next two months, setting up a for a very strong Spring Break season!
• 27% of American travellers indicate that their concern for their personal financial situation would greatly impact their decision to travel in the next six months. This may be a cause for concern as the impact of rising inflation continues to grow.
• Continuing this shift in traveller mindset from pandemic to endemic, 34% of American travellers say that the pandemic no longer has any influence on their decision to travel – an increase of 10 points in just the past six weeks.
• A pandemic high of 71% of American travellers now feel safe travelling outside of their communities.
• Supporting small, locally owned business and enjoying their unique experiences top the reasons as to why travellers choose to shop local on vacation.
• After online searches, word of mouth from friends, family, and locals still top the sources of information on shopping local.

The survey, supported by Miles Partnership, was fielded February 16, 2022 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.

Go to https://longwoods-intl.com/covid-19 for more.