IPX 1031, an investment property exchange service, recently surveyed over 2,000 Americans to learn more about how both their vacation travel plans and the money they are spending on vacations has changed for both this year and beyond. They surveyed 1,000 people who have already traveled during the Covid-19 pandemic and another 1,000 people who have not traveled yet but are currently planning a trip. The goal was to see the similarities and differences between those who have actually traveled during the pandemic and those who have not but still plan to. Let’s take a look at what exactly they found from their survey results of the American public.
Vacation plans during Covid-19
This part of the survey aimed to see how vacations have looked during the Covid-19 pandemic. IPX 1031 found that only 27% of people surveyed have actually taken a vacation since Covid-19 started in March of this year. On top of that, only 20% of those surveyed said they still plan to take a vacation this year. Many people reported being worried about the safety of traveling so have either canceled their trip altogether or have postponed the trip to a later date when it is safer to travel. 37% of those surveyed said their travel plans are on hold indefinitely. One trend in vacations that has seen an increase since COVID- 19 is staycations. 15% of those surveyed said they have staycationed during Covid-19 or plan to do so in the future. For those who do not know, a staycation is where you take a vacation in the city that you live in.Covid-19 impact on vacation plans
Many vacation plans have been canceled or impacted because of the virus. Over 40% of respondents said they have canceled their vacation plans altogether because of the pandemic. Others are a bit more optimistic. 23% said they would choose to postpone their vacation to a later date, most likely next year in 2021. There are others who decided to forego booking at vacation all together this year (29%). Only 7% said they planned on making no change to their vacation plans and planned to take their vacation as planned initially.Are people flying during Covid-19?
As you might imagine, many Americans are a hear of flying during the Covid-19 pandemic. Almost 70% of people surveyed said they do not plan on flying on a commercial aircraft because of the pandemic. Many people are also saying they won’t fly again until there is a vaccine that is safe and effective. Even more, people are not sure of when they will fly again, with others reporting that they won’t fly again until next year.Where have Americans traveled since Covid-19 began?
Some Americans have still traveled despite the pandemic. IPX 1031 wanted to learn more about where those people have gone and how they enjoyed their trip. They found that of those who traveled, many choose to travel during popular holidays like Memorial Day weekend and the Fourth of July weekend. The other months were not as popular as they would be normally but still saw some amounts of travelers during that time period. One thing that the survey found is that many people who traveled had regrets about it. Over 60% said they immediately regretted their vacation because of health and safety concerns. There were other’s that reported not being able to fully enjoy their vacation and relax because of Covid-19. Other’s reported that the vacation itself added stress to their lives. One surprising trend that emerged from this survey is that 55% of respondents said they actually took a longer vacation than they would normally. A big reason for this is because many Americans have extra paid time off to use that they have not used because of the pandemic.The survey also looked at popular tourist destinations during Covid-19 and found that the most popular states for travel during the pandemic were the same as they were pre-pandemic. California, Florida, New York, Texas, and Nevada were in the top 5 states for travel.
The next part of the survey looked at travel accommodations and transportation to see what trends were emerging during COVID related travel. Interestingly enough, hotels remained the top choice for travelers during the pandemic with over 40% of travelers choosing to stay in hotels 18% choose to stay with family and only 16% stayed in short-term rentals. On the topic of the preferred mode of transportation during Covid-19 travel, a majority of Americans prefer to travel by car, followed by airplanes and public transit. Of those that choose to drive for their vacation, a majority did so because they had fears of flying to their destination.
Common Covid-19 travel precautions
Many Americans are choosing to take certain precautions so that they can still take their family trip this year while remaining safe and healthy. Many Americans are choosing to avoid big cities while traveling to avoid outbreak areas and large population centers. Some travelers are changing their destination all together because of Covid-19. Some travelers may see that an area they had intended on visiting was not currently safe, so instead are choosing to either stay local or travel to a destination with less COVID- 19 cases. Another very common travel precaution is for travelers to monitor the city or state they are traveling to see how the Covid-19 cases are in that area. If they are safe, they may choose to go on their trip and if they are not, they can cancel or postpone their trip. Ultimately it is up to the traveler to see if they are comfortable with traveling during the pandemic.The full report from IPX 1031 can be seen in the graphic below.
Infographic by: www.ipx1031.com
