Although frustration with the service issues experienced in an uber-crowded summer season and a continued seriousness about financial concerns pose challenges for the travel & hospitality industry, the outlook for Fall travel still looks comforting.
IMPORTANT: These findings are brought to you from our independent research, which is not sponsored, conducted or influenced by any advertising or marketing agency. The key findings presented below represent data from over 4,000 American travelers collected in August 2022.
With the pumpkin spice latte making its 2022 debut and Labor Day celebrated, Americans said goodbye to summer. Keep reading for a summary of the key findings from the latest The State of the American Traveler report.
Fully 62% of American travelers took at least one overnight trip between mid-May and mid-August. As was the case last month, 40% of these summer travelers reported experiencing at least one service issue on their trips, with problems caused by staffing shortages topping the list. In fact, 38% continued to agree it seemed like businesses in the travel industry were having trouble providing adequate service to their customers (although this metric is declining from a high of 42% in June). Nearly half (48%) of those who had a service issue on their trip rated their experience as more than moderately frustrating—with Gen X travelers exhibiting the highest levels of frustration, while Boomer-age travelers appeared more patient with the situation.
If you are wondering if these service issues have had an adverse impact on sentiment towards future travel, it certainly has taken hold in some travelers’ minds. In our latest survey, 31% of those who reported moderate to extreme levels of frustration with the service issues they experienced on their recent trips said that they are reconsidering their Fall travel plans specifically due to these frustrations. In addition, crowds/too many people traveling (17%) and the possibility of flight cancellations were among the top 10 travel deterrents Americans cited for why they didn’t travel more in the past few months.
Despite the challenges facing travel, nearly two-thirds (64.7%) of American travelers still expect to take at least one overnight leisure trip in the next three months, and nearly half (47%) plan to take an overnight trip specifically to visit friends or relatives in this time frame. Currently, 29% of American travelers say they have a leisure trip planned in September and 30% have a leisure trip planned in October—on the rise since last month. Looking further ahead, a growing number of Americans say they are open to travel inspiration (68%; up nearly 7-points compared to July) and are increasingly excited about their travel in the future (80% report high levels of excitement for travel, up 4-points in the last month).
In terms of disruptions due to Covid, even with the latest variants, the virus’ impact on Americans’ ability to have meaningful travel experiences is in retreat. Now only 30% of travelers say Covid is still negatively impacting their travel experiences (down 17-points from the start of the year).
However, with so many believing the economy is—or will be soon—in a recession, the top travel deterrents remain firmly financial: the cost of gas, airfare, and travel in general being too expensive, as well as their own personal financial situation. Although falling gas prices have released some of the cost pressures travelers are facing—and, in turn, the proportion who say that they will be taking fewer road trips or road trips closer to home has declined from highs seen in June—inflation continues to be a significant issue. Over 30% of American travelers say recent inflation in consumer prices has led them to cancel an upcoming trip, and 45% say high prices have kept them from traveling in the past month. Over the past year, those who feel their personal financial situation is stronger than it was relative to the year prior has fallen from 41% in August 2021 to 27% in August 2022.
Nevertheless, many Americans remain optimistic about their pocketbooks and future travels. This month saw a more than 5-point increase in the proportion of travelers who feel that a year from now, they will be better off financially than they are now (45%). Expectations for travel over the next year are also up. When asked if they expect to take more or fewer trips in the next 12 months (compared to the previous 12 months) 31% of travelers said they’d be taking more trips, up from 28% in July.
Here are some highlights of what American travelers are finding particularly appealing about travel right now:
To help the industry understand how to target American travelers with travel-related messaging, regardless of where they are in the travel planning process, we track which streaming services, news sources, and magazines (printed or online) they have used regularly in the past 12 months. Here are some highlights from this month:
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