Building on its summer prediction that the travel industry’s recovery will continue far into 2022, MMGY Travel Intelligence has released the findings from its “Portrait of American Travelers” survey, 2021 winter edition, which was fielded in October. Examining data from 4,500 respondents, the report suggests that U.S. travelers have maintained their positive outlook on travel. Despite a short-term drop in the perception of safety from an MMGY Global survey conducted on December 6, the incidence of U.S. adults planning to travel over the next six months dipped only slightly from the previous quarter, with 71 percent indicating they intend to take a vacation (compared to 73 percent last fall).
MMGY Travel Intelligence’s December 6 survey also revealed that the Omicron variant is more likely to affect the travel decisions of the vaccinated versus the unvaccinated.
In other key finidings, the survey found that Boomers and Millennials, especially in affluent households, are the traveler segments expected to drive continued growth in domestic leisure travel in 2022. An impressive 87 percent of Boomers share that they are vaccinated—by far the largest percentage of any generation surveyed. They also lead all generations in travel spending intentions, indicating that they plan to spend at least $4,000 on travel in the next 12 months. This is the highest amount reported all year and more than any other generation. Boomers’ travel intentions have risen each of the last three quarters despite the rise in Delta and other variant cases. Boomers who make more than $150,000 are particularly bullish on travel, with this segment increasing their trip intentions significantly in this edition compared to fall, even amid the Delta variant news.
Millennial households lead all generations in the number of trips planned, expressing intentions to take an average of 4.4 trips during the next 12 months, edging out Gen Zs (4.1), Boomers (3.8) and Gen Xers (3.3). Overall, vaccinated travelers express a higher level of concern than non-vaccinated travelers about contracting or spreading COVID-19; yet it does not generally keep them from traveling. The study revealed that vaccinated respondents are more likely than non-vaccinated travelers to stay in a hotel and to take a flight during the next six months.
In addition to overall traveler preferences and future intent, the winter edition report also explored three special topics—online travel agencies (OTAs), loyalty programs and cruises. The study found that three-quarters of active leisure travelers (73 percent) visit an OTA website or app such as Expedia, Tripadvisor or Travelocity on a regular basis when researching or booking travel. Unanimous by all generations, the most popular reason for using an OTA is to compare prices and availability (66 percent) across providers. Half of active leisure travelers indicate that they are currently members of a hotel loyalty program (52 percent) or at least one airline program (48 percent). Boomers, who have typically traveled more, are most likely to belong to either type of loyalty program, while Gen Zs are the least likely to be members. Finally, more than half of active leisure travelers are at least somewhat interested in taking a cruise during the next 12 months. Among all age groups, Millennials express the highest interest (69 percent) while the Caribbean is the most popular cruise itinerary (81 percent), followed by the Mediterranean at 71 percent.
The survey conveys continued strength and optimism in the leisure travel segment. As travelers increasingly accept health risks as manageable due in part to rising vaccination rates, MMGY Travel Intelligence predicts that the next year will be characterized by growth in vacation length-of-stay (LOS) metrics, travel farther from home and a higher proportion of “major vacations” in lieu of more frequent local getaways. At the same time, overall segment growth may be somewhat tempered by rising consumer travel prices, limited availability in high-demand destinations and operational challenges caused by a tight hospitality labor market.
Source: MMGY Travel Intelligence
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