Travelers at Washington Reagan Washington National Airport on Saturday. Air travel on the fourth of July is approaching pre-pandemic levels.
Stefani Reynolds / AFP via Getty Images
Nearly 48 million people traveled 50 miles or more this weekend for Independence Day, according to AAA. That’s about 1 in 7 Americans. The numbers are ticking up at Transportation Security Administration checkpoints, and are coming pretty close to pre – pandemic levels.
But the cost of travel – in a word – is rising. AAA also found that air fares are about 14% higher than last year. And you probably do not need to be reminded of how high gasoline prices are at the moment.
That is to say that this summer may not have been the booming time for many in the leisure and hospitality industry.
American consumers are less worried about getting COVID-19 and more willing to climb on congested trains, buses and planes. They are returning to travel with vengeance.
“People are calling for this revenge trip – go back there and do things they didn’t have the opportunity or were not comfortable doing,” said Lindsey Roeschke, who tracks consumer behavior at Morning Consult.
But she said travel is becoming more expensive. So Morning Consult found out that consumers are planning to drive less and make fewer trips than last summer.
“With all the frustrations of air travel, gas prices do not seem to be cheap. So it’s hard to trade and take a road trip instead, ”said Roeschke.
As the summer progresses and the sticker shock enters, so does travel, according to Dana Peterson at the Conference Board.
“Prices for everything are rising. So it’s not just gasoline, but also restaurants, hotels, entertainment like going to your favorite sporting event or going to the movies. ”
If you’re about to travel, be prepared for disruption, ‘said retail analyst Marshal Cohen at NPD Group. He had recently scheduled a flight from New York to Florida to visit a client.
“The flight has been canceled. They were saying, ‘Well, I think we’ll have to relaunch.’ I said, ‘Oh no, I’ll be there tomorrow,’ ”he said. “It simply came to our notice then. Sixteen hours later, I was there. ”
But most people cannot shift gears for a dime and drive to their holiday destination if their flight is canceled. So maybe they would end up waiting instead.
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