With nearly 20% of Americans vaccinated against Covid-19, “normal” is beginning to feel like it’s right around the corner.
Despite Americans’ rising comfort level related to vacations, fewer than a quarter of Americans have pulled the trigger on travel plans in the near-term. According to a new Adweek-Morning Consult poll, which builds on the ongoing research Morning Consult has conducted around travel throughout the pandemic, just 22% of consumers have already booked a vacation within the next three months.
Discounts and vaccines are likely to encourage vacationers
Still, 51% of respondents said they’re at least somewhat likely to book a vacation within the next three months (23% say they’re very likely to do so). That jumps to 56% if they received a discount from a hotel or vacation rental, and 59% if they received a free night’s stay.
For those that won’t be swayed by promotions, rising vaccinations could do the trick—close to half (45%) of respondents said they need to be fully vaccinated before they will feel comfortable vacationing. Another 24% said they would prefer to be vaccinated, and 31% said they don’t need a vaccine to feel comfortable going on vacation.
Vacation comfort continues its steady rise
For the third week in a row, comfort levels related to vacationing hit an all-time high since Morning Consult initially began its “Tracking the Return to Normal” surveys last March. According to the data, released April 3, 49% of adults would feel comfortable traveling—up from 18% last year at this time.
Those vacations are still most likely to be road trips, though. While 66% of Americans are comfortable taking a road trip, only 32% would feel comfortable flying domestically. Just 21% would feel comfortable boarding an international flight to vacation a bit farther from home.
However, Americans are excited to get those trips back on the agenda. Of all the things Americans are looking forward to post-pandemic, vacations rank highest, according to the data. While 62% of respondents said they’re at least somewhat excited to vacation again, 43% said they’re very excited.
