How Consumers Are Thinking About Travel in 2021

Scott's Cheap Flights recently published its second annual State of Cheap Flights Report. The email subscription service that sends cheap flight alerts to its millions of members surveyed more than 5,800 travelers to shed new light on how consumers are thinking about travel in 2021 and the trips they expect to take this year. Here are some of the key takeaways ahead of what is poised to be a pivotal year for travel.

With COVID-19 vaccines rolling out, more than six out of every 10 respondents (61 percent) said they're feeling hopeful about travel this year. Approximately 83 percent of hopeful respondents are planning to take at least two domestic trips and about half as many (44 percent) are targeting two or more international getaways in 2021. A handful of travelers are nervous (17 percent) or doubtful (14 percent) while a small portion, just seven percent, are excited about travel in 2021.

More than one-third of respondents (35 percent) indicated that face mask requirements are the most important safety protocol in 2021, followed by allowing free flight changes (34 percent), blocking middle seats (18 percent) and sanitizing between flights (13 percent). Meanwhile, wearing a face mask is the top precaution travelers will take this year (82 percent). A majority of travelers will also avoid crowds (68 percent), get tested for COVID-19 before their trip (54 percent) and participate in most of their activities outdoors (52 percent).

Europe (68 percent) continues to be the most sought-after international region even though most of the continent is still closed to Americans. Asia (30 percent), the Caribbean (28 percent) and Mexico (25 percent) will also be in demand this year. Mexico and much of the Caribbean have reopened to U.S. travelers with COVID-19 testing requirements in place in some cases.

Domestically, most travelers are looking to head west in 2021. The West/Pacific Northwest (52 percent) is the hottest region of the U.S. this year, edging out the Mountains of Idaho, Montana, Wyoming and Colorado (40 percent) and the Southwest (37 percent). After the Southeast (35 percent), Hawaii is just as popular as the Northeast (31 percent) and more so than the Mid-Atlantic (29 percent), Midwest (19 percent), Alaska (13 percent) and the Great Plains (six percent).

According to Scott's Cheap Flights' research, more than two-thirds of respondents will take international trips ranging from 7-14 days and domestic trips lasting between 4-8 days. Roughly one-fifth of travelers (19 percent) will spend 2-3 days per domestic trip while 19 percent also indicated they plan to spend 15 or more days per international getaway.

More than one-quarter of respondents (26 percent) carried over 11 or more vacation days from 2020 into 2021, and 15 percent carried over between six and 10 days. Nearly one-third (30 percent) have 21-30 vacation days available this year while 23 percent have 31 or more days freed up. According to the U.S. Travel Association, American workers left an average of 33 percent of their paid time off on the table last year, earning 17.2 vacation days on average and using just 11.6, including only 6.8 of those days on travel.

Travelers are itching to visit large cities again. Large cities are the most popular trip type for international travel in 2021 (62 percent) and the second-most popular trip type when it comes to domestic travel (52 percent), trailing only trips to see family and friends (69 percent). Domestic travelers are also looking forward to visiting national parks (44 percent) and beaches (43 percent) and taking more road trips to multiple cities (40 percent). When it comes to international travel, many are hoping to visit multiple cities by train, plane, bus or ferry (50 percent), head to the beach (47 percent) and explore a small town (38 percent).

A majority of survey respondents indicated that they are planning to travel domestically (63 percent) or internationally (78 percent) this year, according to the State of Cheap Flights Report. However, only 15 percent of respondents have purchased tickets for domestic travel in 2021 since the pandemic began, and even fewer (10 percent) have purchased flights for international trips since COVID-19 took hold in March 2020.

More than half of travelers (54 percent) estimated that they saved at least $2,000 by not taking their planned trips last year and of those who saved, more than two-thirds (66 percent) plan to use that extra money for travel in 2021. When it comes to spending on travel, 74 of respondents said that they will spend more than $2,500 on international trips, and a solid 41 percent expect to spend at least the same figure on domestic trips in 2021.