After nearly a year of postponed trips, U.S. consumers’ perceived safety of leisure travel is starting to rise, and spending intent is starting to increase. As nearly 30 million vaccine doses have been administered in the U.S., the latest responses according to a Deloitte survey point to a gradual recovery in the travel sector.
Deloitte’s latest U.S. iteration of the "Global State of the Consumer Tracker," a series of monthly surveys keeping a pulse on consumer confidence, spending and travel habits since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic found an overall cautiously optimistic outlook on vaccination. Six weeks after COVID-19 vaccine distribution began in the U.S., more than 50 percent of U.S. adults expect to be fully vaccinated in the next six months.
In addition, potential travelers are feeling their safest since April 2020. The number of U.S. adults who feel safe staying in a hotel and flying has reached the highest levels since April 2020, at 46 percent and 34 percent, respectively. Even better news: Of those already fully vaccinated, 70 percent feel safe staying in a hotel and 54 percent feel safe flying.
It’s little surprise then, once vaccinated, travel intent increases, according to Deloitte. More than half (53 percent) of those already vaccinated say they are likely to spend more on travel in the next four weeks, compared to 30 percent for the general population. And, a bit further out, over the next three months, vaccinated consumers indicated that they are two times more likely to take a domestic flight and 1.7 times more likely to stay in a hotel than the rest. These vaccinated consumers are also more likely to engage in activities such as renting a car (63 percent) and booking a private accommodation (61 percent).
With that said, while travel intentions are starting to rise, Deloitte found that some consumer activity may not return to pre-pandemic levels. For example: Thirty-seven percent of consumers say they will fly less often than before the onset of the pandemic, and 36 percent will have fewer hotel stays. In addition, 35 percent of consumers plan to continue to eat out less than they did pre-COVID.
The latest iteration of the survey was fielded January 22–27 and queried at least 1,000 American consumers.
Source: Deloitte
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