First 2021 Travel for Many Will Be to Family, Friends
A new survey finds that the pent-up demand for travel isn’t just about seeing new places, but also familiar faces.
According to the most recent Longwoods International tracking study of American travellers, about 50% are planning to visit family and friends on their first trip this year, with the vast majority planning to travel by car. About a third of American travellers expect their first trip of the year to be a leisure/vacation trip.
“The desire for travel to be with friends and family remains strong during the pandemic,” said Amir Eylon, President and CEO of Longwoods International. “No doubt this is being fuelled by the pandemic’s negative impact on friends and families gathering since the arrival of COVID-19 last spring and particularly during the holidays.”
Regarding the timing of 2021 trips, about 40% of American travellers do not plan to hit the road before there is vaccine distribution. Please note that almost half of travellers currently feel safe traveling outside their home communities.
The survey, supported by Miles Partnership, was fielded Jan. 6 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.
