Every week since last March 15, the travel and tourism market research firm Destination Analysts polled Americans about their travel plans — and their thoughts and fears — in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Long story short, things are looking up: 49.1% of the more than 1,200 people polled now say they think things will get better.
Now just 43.2% thought common travel activities were “unsafe” — which is a record pandemic-era low reflecting this new optimism. Two-thirds expressed they can travel without guilt over COVID-19.
That said, just one in eight said they were planning to take a spring break trip.
However, travel is on people’s minds; 60% of American travelers did some kind of “travel dreaming and/or planning” in the last week alone, with more than 15% actually making travel reservations.
Nearly 55% say they plan to make at least one leisure trip in the next three months, and more than 84% say they “already have” trips planned for later in the year — with June-October becoming the new vacation peak period.
More than sixty-three percent have, or know someone who has gotten the vaccine, and the polling revealed that even post-Pandemic, 71.3% of American travelers say they will continue to wear masks even after they are fully vaccinated; 65% said they’d be OK with a travel destination requiring masks after the pandemic fades.