The Summer Travel Economy Is Back in Full Swing

There’s been a flurry of recent reports predicting that this summer is going to be a hectic one for the travel industry and now another is joining the mix.

Deloitte just released its summer travel survey and the high-level takeaway is that all signs are pointing to a busy travel season ahead and this is due in large part to the fact that Americans are not letting economic pressures dampen either their enthusiasm or their planning.

"More than two years after the rollout of COVID-19 vaccines helped relaunch the experience economy, this summer is poised to improve on an already buoyant Summer 2022,” the report begins.

The data supporting this statement includes:

• Half of Americans say they will take a leisure vacation this summer that will involve paid lodging, which is an increase from 46 percent of Americans who had such plans for summer 2022
• 13 percent of Americans meanwhile, are planning a trip that involves staying with friends or family

About 37 percent or Americans are not taking a summer vacation and there's various reasons why. Half of those are skipping a summer getaway (50 percent) said they can’t afford to travel, while 24 percent said they feel like travel prices are too high at the moment. About 16 percent of respondents would rather spend their money on other things and 11 percent intend to travel after summer is over.

Traveler in Greece (Photo Credit: Getty/ urbazon)

Deloitte’s data also revealed that “the specter of COVID-19 is still driving some revenge travel.” What does that mean exactly?

About one in five travelers say they planned their marquee summer trip to :make up for trips they missed out on during the pandemic.”

What’s more, among those who plan to spend more than in 2022, nearly three in 10 say they are making up for missed travel (28 percent) or taking a bucket-list trip (32 percent).

Another particularly interesting takeaway from the Deloitte report: With greater confidence and more time to plan in advance, the US traveler pool has apparently expanded.

“Many are taking long-delayed dream trips, but even more are planning to add short getaways during the season,” says the report. “This could signal healthy demand for more mass-market travel products, such as major attractions and limited-service hotels.”

Additional data showed that a growing number of U.S. travelers are taking advantage of more open, convenient, and predictable overseas travel, as most pandemic-related border restrictions have been lifted.

The share of people who intend to take an international flight climbed more than 1.5 times, from 14 percent in 2022 to 22 percent this year.

Additional highlights from the report include:

• 91 percent of travelers will stay in a paid hotel for summer 2023 versus 83 percent in 2022
• 42 percent taking of travelers will take a domestic flight during the coming summer, compared to 37 percent in 2022
• 22 percent of travelers are taking an international flight this summer, up from just 14 percent for summer 2022
  
  

The cruise industry still appears to be lagging woefully behind, according to Deloitte. Just 8 percent of respondents have a cruise vacation on their agenda this summer, and that’s up a mere one percent from last summer’s 7 percent of travelers.

“Even if concerns about the travel experience linger after last summer, they do not seem to be keeping people at home,” concludes the Deloitte report. “The possibility of disruption in the form of delayed or canceled flights was cited by just 6 percent of non-travelers, a huge drop compared to 18% over the winter holiday season.”

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