Are You Ready to Travel This Year?

I know I am. And it appears from the graphic below that most other Americans are as well, though caution still prevails among some — and I can’t blame anyone for that.

After conducting a survey on travel sentiment earlier this year, IPX1031 re-visited the topic six months later to see how feelings toward travel have changed now that vaccines have been rolled out and many restrictions have been lifted across the country.

Here are the highlights of the survey findings:

• 85% of respondents are optimistic about traveling in 2021 (up from 48% in January 2021).
• 75% plan to travel in 2021 (up from 58% in January 2021). 
• Among that 75% who plan to vacation this year, 71% plan to travel within the U.S.
• 55% have already booked their trips. 
• 71% of respondents feel safe flying right now (up from 48% in January 2021).
• 59% of respondents have budgeted $2,000 or more for a trip this year. 

Post-Covid Travel Outlook

According to respondents, Americans are feeling even more optimistic about traveling than they were earlier this year. When we conducted our 2021 Vacation Survey in January, less than half (48%) were optimistic about traveling this year, but now optimism has increased to 85%.

Post-Covid Vacation Plans

Along with an increase in travel optimism, our recent survey also shows an increase in Americans making travel plans this year. According to respondents, 75% plan to travel this year, which is up from 58% in January.

And not only are respondents planning on taking a vacation this year, but more than half (55%) have already booked their trips.

When are Americans planning to travel in 2021? According to respondents, more than one-third plan to take a trip this summer while 39% say they will vacation either this fall or during the winter. Only 12% of respondents say they “aren’t sure” when their next vacation will be.

Of those who plan to travel, 71% say they’ll stay within the U.S., 17% plan to travel abroad and 12% say they’ll travel both domestically and internationally.

Respondents say they have an average of 2.5 trips planned for 2021 with the average length of their trips lasting about 4 days.

Vacation Budgets

Among those who plan to vacation this year, 44% say they expect to spend more money on their trip than they normally would spend. Overall, 59% of respondents say they have budgeted $2,000 or more for a trip this year and a majority (67%) have been saving up within the last six months.

Vacation Homes and Accommodations

With an increase in remote and hybrid work, vacation homeowners have been spending a lot more time at their properties within the last year. In fact, among vacation homeowners, 84% say they’ve been spending more time at their property.

Hotels have also seen an increase in customers as travel restrictions ease throughout the country. According to respondents, 38% say they prefer to stay in a hotel when vacationing this year, 16% prefer a short-term rental such as Airbnb or VRBO and 14% prefer a vacation home or timeshare.

Flying Post-Covid

When we asked whether travelers felt safe being on an airplane in January, less than half (48%) said they felt comfortable boarding a flight. When asked the same question in June, that number increased to 71%. Overall, more than half (55%) believe that travel will fully return without any restrictions by the end of the year.

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Methodology

From June 21 – 24, 2021, we surveyed 1,497 Americans between the ages of 18-76 with a median age of 38. Forty-five percent of respondents were female and 55% were male. According to respondents, 63% had taken a vacation since March 2020, which was up from 40% when a similar survey was conducted in January 2021. The average age of respondents was 38 years old.

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IPX1031 is a full service Qualified Intermediary with highly specialized exchange divisions to handle any type of exchange transaction nationwide.

Comments:

We were looking into going back to Italy. Maybe a week each in Rome, Florence, and Venice. But last I looked Italy still expects us to wear a mask even outside. I feel pretty safe as we are fully vaccinated, so I am going to wait until we can move about unmasked. Of course we travel all the time between our homes in Hilton Head and Northern Virginia, and that is a change since vaccination. We were stuck in Hilton Head for more than a year. Fortunately we were able to take two pretty fabulous cruises just before Covid hit. — John Robbins

Clark responds: Glad you’re fully vaccinated, John, and it sounds like you’re taking the prudent course. I guess if you did go to Venice you could buy two of those colorful Carnival masks they sell and wear those as needed. But waiting a bit could make it a much more pleasant experience., You had great timing on the cruises!