According to the latest Longwoods International tracking study of American travelers, despite initial hopes, leisure travel this fall and holiday period is not expected to rebound significantly.  In fact, a third of travelers expect to take even fewer trips than they did during the coronavirus-dominated 2020 fall and holiday season, while another quarter will take more fall and holiday leisure trips than last year.  Four out of ten said that they would take the same number of leisure trips as in 2020.

“Full recovery from the pandemic for the U.S. travel and tourism industry is still a bit further away,” said Amir Eylon, President and CEO of Longwoods International.  “Travelers remain cautious, which could result in a long, slow climb back to the robust, record-breaking travel volumes and spending the industry experienced pre-COVID.”

Intent to travel still remains high, as nine out of ten travelers indicate plans to travel during the next six months.  However, about half of travelers report they have changed upcoming travel plans because of COVID-19.

The survey, supported by Miles Partnership, was fielded September 29, 2021 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.