A new Tripadvisor survey reveals that half of U.S. respondents (50%) are planning a trip this spring (March 1 through May 31).
Millennials are more optimistic and eager to return to travel than any other generation:
- 58% of millennial respondents are planning a trip this spring (compared to 50% of all age groups).
- 71% of millennial respondents feel comfortable dining out this spring (compared to 62% of all age groups).
- 54% of millennial respondents believe day-to-day life will return to normal within three months (compared to 38% of all age groups).
- 56% of millennial respondents believe they will be better off financially in the next 12 months than they are today (compared to 41% of all age groups).
And while 2020 was the year of the staycation, with the vaccine rollout comes increasing confidence in bigger trips. Tripadvisor site data shows that of Americans who are actively planning a trip for spring on Tripadvisor, more than one-third (34%) are searching for international destinations, compared to 66% searching for domestic destinations.
Not surprisingly, many Americans are setting their sights on sunny destinations near the ocean. The fastest-growing destinations this spring (those with the biggest increase in searches on Tripadvisor year-over-year) are in Florida, Mexico and the Caribbean. When choosing a stay, travelers are lusting after beach resorts and ocean views.
Meanwhile, iconic (and crowded) U.S. cities are continuing to have a slow recovery (based on volume of searches on Tripadvisor year-over-year). Americans are instead opting for outdoor, socially distanced trips, with more than one-fifth (21%) saying that COVID-19 has dampened their desire to visit a city this spring.
The 10 fastest-growing destinations for Americans are Isla Verde, Puerto Rico; St. Thomas; Playa Maroma, Mexico; Tulum, Mexico; Key West, FL; Key Largo, FL; Miami Beach; Christiansted, U.S. Virgin Islands; Cruz Bay, U.S. Virgin Islands; and Fort Myers Beach, FL.
The 10 slowest-growing destinations for Americans are New York City; San Francisco; Washington, DC; New Orleans; Los Angeles; Nashville, TN; San Diego; Las Vegas; Chicago; and Nassau, Bahamas.
The fastest and slowest growing destinations are based on the year-over-year change in the volume of searches for destinations globally made by U.S. users on Tripadvisor for travel between March 1-May 31.