Longwoods International has been tracking Americans’ views on travel, and its latest research, in conjunction with Miles Partnership, reveals Americans are ready to start traveling again.
“The negative impact of COVID-19 on travel planning is waning,” said Amir Eylon, President and CEO of Longwoods International. “And the percentage of those planning trips in the next 60 to 90 days is increasing, encouraging news for summer tourism.”
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The most recent research reveals that just 30 percent of Americans indicated the coronavirus will greatly impact their decision to travel in the next six months, the lowest level since the pandemic began in March of last year.
Six in 10 Americans said that they now feel safe traveling outside of their communities—the highest level in one year. A majority of Americans also indicated that they feel safe eating and shopping locally (60 percent). Fifty-three percent said that they feel safe opening up their communities to visitors. Many Americans are placing great importance on supporting local businesses in the pandemic recovery with 48 percent saying that helping these local businesses reopen and recover should be a priority in their community.
Vaccines are also playing an important role in returning to travel. More and more U.S. travelers are getting vaccinated, and the percentage of those who will wait to be vaccinated before traveling has declined to 27 percent, which is down 37 percent from six weeks ago. Four in ten say the vaccine has no impact on their travel plans.