Falling Gas Prices Boost Travel Outlook

The recent decline in gas prices is a positive indicator for travel for the rest of the summer and into the fall, according to the latest Longwoods International tracking study of American travellers.

While 31% of travellers said gas prices would greatly impact their decision to travel in the next six months, that is down dramatically from the 43% of travellers who expressed the same sentiment just a month ago.

Amir Eylon, President and CEO of Longwoods International, said that: “Falling gas prices is an automatic plus for the travel industry. And if fuel costs continue to decline as expected, more Americans will have more money in their pockets and will be hitting the road.”

The tracking study also reported that 9 in 10 travellers have trips planned in the next six months.

And despite the staffing challenges facing the industry since the pandemic, 8 in 10 travellers reported the level of service they received from tourism and hospitality businesses was equal to or higher than pre-COVID-19 levels.

Other key findings include:

• The mid-summer decline in gas prices is having a significant and positive impact on sentiment as now only 31% of American travellers say that the higher gas prices will greatly impact their decision to travel in the next six months – down 12 points in just one month.
• Related to this, Longwoods International said it is also seeing significant declines in those indicating that they will stay closer to home, take fewer trips, and reallocate/reduce their spend in key categories such as retail, dining, lodging, recreation, etc …
• A slight dip in pent up demand as 88% indicate plans to travel in the next six months — down four points from July — but still very high.
• Strong end to summer travel ahead as 49% indicate plans to travel in the next 60 days.
• COVID greatly impacting plans holding steady at 19% for several months in a row now. It has waned significantly, but not disappeared as a factor likely due to new variant’s rapid spread — 43% still say COVID-19 has zero influence on their plans at this point, but that number has held steady this summer.
• Finally, in looking at how travellers perceive service levels on their most recent travels over the past three months, 22% — almost one out of four — report service levels were worse than pre-pandemic, with the same amount indicating it was better than in 2019.

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