Americans still hope to travel overseas this year

While the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic continue to greatly impact travel in the United States and throughout the world, Americans are venturing out to explore their own country and even beyond.

According to the latest Travel Sentiment Monitor, more than half of American respondents still hope to travel abroad this year.

Other key findings:

1) Only 38% of the Americans who will need lodging in 2020 say they prefer hotels over short-term rentals, because of hygiene safety factors in regards to COVID-19 infection risk. The other 62% say they trust the ability of short-term rental hosts to ensure proper hygiene.

2) Planned travel budgets for 2020 are shrinking with each month, compared with our Travel Sentiment Monitors in March, April and May.

This current customer survey was conducted July 5-12, 2020, via online forms and ensured gender and age balance. Here are the findings in detail.

Destinations near and far

Since lockdowns were lifted, 32% of American respondents have already taken a domestic trip, while another 13% have traveled internationally.

More than half of the Americans (54%) say they still hope to travel abroad this year. Of those, 55% say they will take a trip in a city, while 45% will focus on nature. Another 46% report that they will not travel abroad this year.
When referring only to the short term vs. the rest of the year, 55% said they would not travel abroad for a summer vacation because of the risk of infection. Another 23% said they were not planning to travel abroad anyway during the summer holidays. A third of Americans said they were more optimistic about the possibilities of travel abroad in the fall.

Flight safety

In regards to how the airlines are helping to protect passengers from getting infected, only about a quarter of respondents (27%) said they are confident about flying. Another 29% reported that even if they don’t feel confident about airplane travel during a pandemic, they will still fly because they have no other options. Most of the American respondents (38%) said they plan to travel in their own cars for extra safety.

Lodging options

Only 38% of the Americans who will need lodging in 2020 say they prefer hotels over short-term rentals, because of hygiene safety factors in regards to COVID-19 infection risk. The other 62% say they trust the ability of short-term rental hosts to ensure proper hygiene.

No red carpet

With high COVID numbers in the U.S. and a recommendation from the EU that Americans not travel in Europe, it’s no surprise that 84% of Americans are feeling less-welcomed abroad these days. They fear that hosts might be worried about being exposed to the virus.

On the other hand, only 39% of Europeans perceive themselves less-welcomed abroad in the upcoming months, due to their countries` response to the pandemic. The British respondents are closer to the worldwide average of 56% who believe they will not be welcomed with the same enthusiasm as in the previous years.

Budget shrinkage

Americans continue to cut their travel budgets. When we asked American travelers in March if they expected to maintain their planned 2020 travel budget, 48% answered yes. In April and May, those numbers dropped to 35% and 34% respectively. In July, only 29% of American respondents said they planned to keep their 2020 travel budget intact.

For those who will reduce their budget, the percentage of reduction has gone up, with almost half saying they will slash their travel budget by 40% or more this year.

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