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
Travelers have started booking holiday trips. Travel volumes remain below pre-pandemic levels, but promise to grow during the typically busy holiday season, particularly among middle-income and high-income consumers. The share who booked a trip in the past month grew by 3 percentage points between August and September for all U.S. adults, but rose 5 points among those in households earning $50,000-$99,999 annually and 8 points among respondents with annual household income of $100,000 or more.
More travelers factor in sustainability when booking travel. While price is still the primary booking driver, climate concerns are playing an increasingly important role in travel decision-making. The shares of adults who said a brand’s approach to sustainability and a route’s environmental impact are top priorities when booking transportation both climbed 3 points month over month.
Frequent business travelers drive a slight uptick in near-term work trips. While business travel will likely never return to pre-COVID normals, those that took business trips most frequently in the past are indeed getting back on the road: 24% of travelers who took seven or more annual business trips before the pandemic said they’d take a business trip within the next three months, a 6-point increase since August. However, the long-term outlook is not as positive — the share of the same group who said they expect to take a work trip between four and 12 months from now dropped from 27% to 19% during the same time.
Share of U.S. adults who have done the following in the past month:
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Leisure Travel
Respondents were asked when they anticipate taking their next leisure trip
Travelers were asked how and where they would travel for leisure in the next 12 months
Respondents were asked what transportation and accommodation options they expect to use during leisure trips in the next three months
Business Travel
Respondents were asked when they anticipate taking their next business trip
Respondents were asked what transportation and accommodation options they expect to use during business trips in the next three months
Booking Trends
Share of respondents who identified the following as top priorities when booking transportation:
Share of respondents who identified the following as top priorities when booking accommodation:
Travelers were asked what factors influenced their upcoming leisure trip plans
Trust and Engagement
Share of respondents who trust the following industries to do what is right:
Share of respondents who trust the following types of travel companies:
Shares of respondents who are members of a travel loyalty/rewards program
Pandemic Safety Measures
Respondents were asked whether the following factors made them more or less willing to travel domestically compared with before the pandemic:
Share of respondents who said travel brands should “definitely” or “probably” do the following:
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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.
Special thanks to Matthew Howe, senior manager of travel intelligence at Morning Consult, for his assistance with this project.
Email press@morningconsult.com to speak with a member of the Morning Consult team.