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Tracking Trends in the Travel & Hospitality Industry

Updated: May 5, 2022 | By Lindsey Roeschke

After being deeply impacted by the pandemic, the travel & hospitality industry is currently navigating an uneven recovery. Leaders of travel and tourism brands must understand ever-evolving consumer preferences and expectations — which in turn are influenced by health concerns, logistical hurdles and new ways of working and living — in order to better serve travelers.

To help leaders stay informed about the most important post-pandemic travel trends, Morning Consult tracks travelers’ behaviors, attitudes and expectations through a monthly survey of roughly 2,200 U.S. adults. We’ll be updating this page with new data and analysis each month. Sign up for alerts below. 

The methodology for the tracker is included at the bottom of this page.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

With the pullback of the federal mask mandate for travel, support for masking fell sharply in April among U.S. adults planning to take trips by plane within the next three months. The shares of this group who think customers and employees should be masked decreased by 10 and 11 percentage points, respectively. There were smaller dips in support among the broader population, however, indicating that the U.S. public overall is still in favor of the mandate

Preoccupation with others’ travel behavior is also diminishing. Concerns about quarantine requirements and others’ behavior during the COVID-19 pandemic are among the leading reasons U.S. adults are less willing to travel, but concern over consumer behavior fell 4 percentage points in April, suggesting travelers are hopeful the scrapped mask mandate will reduce incidents of air rage.

At the same time, fewer people are expecting to travel by plane in April, likely due to rising ticket prices and increased cancellations. The share of those expecting to travel by plane fell 7 percentage points, and even more among millennials and Gen Xers (10 points and 13 points, respectively). Young families may also be taking a wait-and-see approach to the mask mandate pullback.

Up-to-Date Travel Behavior

Shares of U.S. adults who have done the following in the past month:

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Leisure Travel

Leisure Travel Plans

Respondents were asked when they anticipate taking their next leisure trip
Figures may not add up to 100% due to rounding

Leisure Travel Destinations

Travelers were asked how and where they would travel for leisure in the next 12 months

Transportation and Accommodation for Leisure Travel

Respondents were asked what transportation and accommodation options they expect to use during leisure trips in the next 3 months

Leisure Travel Path to Purchase

Respondents were asked how far in advance they would do each of the following:

Figures may not add up to 100% due to rounding

Business Travel

Business Travel Plans

Respondents were asked when they anticipate taking their next business trip
Figures may not add up to 100% due to rounding

Transportation and Accommodation for Business Travel

Respondents were asked what transportation and accommodation options they expect to use during business trips in the next 3 months

Business Travel Path to Purchase

Respondents were asked how far in advance they would do each of the following:

Figures may not add up to 100% due to rounding

Booking Trends

Booking Priorities for Transportation

Shares of respondents who identified the following as top priorities when booking transportation:

Booking Priorities for Accommodation

Shares of respondents who identified the following as top priorities when booking accommodation:

Booking Drivers

Travelers were asked what factors influenced their upcoming leisure trip plans

Trust and Engagement

Trust in the Travel Industry

Shares of respondents who trust the following industries to do what is right:

Trust in Travel & Hospitality Brands

Shares of respondents who trust the following types of travel companies:

Loyalty Program Engagement

Shares of respondents who are members of a travel loyalty/rewards program

Pandemic Safety Measures

The Pandemic’s Impact on Travel Behavior

Respondents were asked whether the following factors made them more or less willing to travel domestically compared with before the pandemic:

Traveler Expectations of Brand Safety Protocols

Shares of respondents who said travel brands should “definitely” or “probably” do the following:

METHODOLOGY

The Travel & Hospitality Monthly Trend Tracker relies on data collected through Morning Consult’s proprietary survey research capabilities. The interviews are conducted online, and the data is weighted to approximate a representative sample of U.S. adults based on gender, educational attainment, age, race and region. The full survey has a monthly sample size of roughly 2,200 U.S. adults and an unweighted margin of error of plus or minus 2 percentage points.

About Morning Consult

Morning Consult is a global decision intelligence company changing how modern leaders make smarter, faster, better decisions. The company pairs its proprietary high-frequency data with applied artificial intelligence to better inform decisions on what people think and how they will act. Learn more at morningconsult.com

About the Author

Lindsey Roeschke is the travel and hospitality analyst at global intelligence company Morning Consult, where she leads the company’s travel analysis to deliver real time insights for leaders in the sector.

Matthew Howe is the senior manager of travel intelligence at global intelligence company Morning Consult, where he conducts research, authors analyst notes, and advises leaders in the travel and hospitality industry.

Email  to speak with a member of the Morning Consult team.

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