The Vacationer’s 2021 holiday survey shows that more Americans plan to travel in December
If the new COVID-19 Omicron version doesn’t convince people to cancel their plans, then 2021 holiday season could see more tourists than last.
A holiday travel survey by The Vacationer shows that 122 million Americans will travel long distances to celebrate Hanukkah and Christmas. However, it is important to remember that the poll was taken online on October 17, before the World Health Organization named the Omicron variant.
According to The Vacationer, there has been an 13.54% increase in Americans who plan to travel to “vacation destinations or gatherings” in their updated survey of 2021.
If the COVID-19 Omicron variant is not used in holiday travel, and The Vacationer’s data holds true, 12.72% will travel by plane, 60% by car, and 3.93% by some form of public transport.
More than a third (37.15%), of Americans who plan to travel in December, say they will be traveling between 1 and 99 miles. Nearly one fifth (19.3%), say they travel between 100-499 miles. Nearly 8 percent say they travel between 500-999 miles, or more than 1000 miles.
These holiday travelers expect to spend $500 on fuel, flights, hotels and tickets, with 40% expecting to spend less than $500. 11.07% expect to spend between $501- $1,000, while 12.26% anticipate spending more than $1,001 on holiday travel.
SurveyMonkey was used to conduct the Vacationer’s holiday travel survey. The data was then analyzed and interpreted by Eric Jones, an assistant professor of mathematics, Rowan College of South Jersey.
The total sample size of the survey included 1,092 Americans over 18 years old.
Coronavirus vaccines for COVID-19, and other variants, are now available in the United States. The total number of Americans who have been fully vaccinated is more than 195,000,000, or 59.3%.
The CDCrecommends avoiding unnecessary travel if you feel sick, have been exposed, tested positive for COVID-19 (regardless if you are vaccinated), or are waiting for coronavirus results.