Skift Take
Despite rising prices, many U.S. travelers are protecting their travel budgets, said the latest survey by Skift Research. We're cautiously optimistic about this trend.
Key Points
- 70% of U.S. travelers faced higher travel prices but only 5% cut their travel budgets.
- Domestic travel has increased, and blended travel for business and leisure remains common.
- Despite economic concerns, most Americans expect their personal financial situation to improve, indicating stable travel spending for 2023.
Summary
Despite rising prices and economic uncertainty, the latest Skift Research U.S. Travel Tracker report shows that many U.S. travelers are maintaining their travel budgets. The survey found that 70% of travelers experienced higher travel prices, yet only 5% have cut their travel spending. The report highlights trends such as the increase in domestic travel, the persistence of blended travel for business and leisure, and the ongoing prevalence of remote work. Additionally, while many Americans are pessimistic about the country's economic future, a majority believe their personal financial situation will improve, suggesting a steady travel spending outlook for 2023.
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Despite rising prices and economic uncertainty, many U.S. travelers seem to be ring-fencing their travel budgets from spending cuts, according to the latest survey by Skift Research.
Seven out of every 10 U.S. travelers surveyed said they had experienced higher travel prices while booking their personal trips and altered their travel plans as a result. Only about 5% of the respondents said they would or had cut their travel spending.
In our newly released U.S. Travel Tracker: Q1 2023 Highlights report, Skift Research highlights the current state of the U.S. travel demand with data and insights on trip details, consumer sentiment, travel spending changes, booking trends, and how the “work from anywhere” trend impacts travel.
There is an uptick in travel in the U.S. In March 2023, 59% of Americans traveled, 4 percentage points higher than December 2022. However, share of international remained steady in March 2023. An increase in flight travel and travel to urban centers indicated that Covid-related changes in the travel landscape are reversing.
The age of “blended travel” is still here so far. Over half of business travelers reported that they extended their business trips for leisure purposes in Q1 2023.
Remote work hasn’t vanished with the pandemic, either. The share of respondents working fully remotely/from home stood at 38% in March 2023.
Even though an increasing number of Americans believe that the economic situation of the country will worsen in the next 12 months, more than half believe that their personal financial status will improve in the next 12 months.
Given all these data points, we are cautiously optimistic that travel will remain insulated from spending cuts.
Skift Research introduced the monthly U.S. Travel Tracker survey in January 2020 and switched to a bi-monthly survey starting 2021 and 2022. Starting in 2023, these surveys will be fielded quarterly.
What You’ll Learn From This Report
- U.S. Travel Highlights
- Booking Trends
- Customer Experience
- In-Destination Trends
- Consumer attitudes to prices, and the impact on travel plans
- Use of sustainable options provided by travel suppliers
- Consumer Sentiment and economic outlook
Skift’s in-depth reporting on climate issues is made possible through the financial support of Intrepid Travel. This backing allows Skift to bring you high-quality journalism on one of the most important topics facing our planet today. Intrepid is not involved in any decisions made by Skift’s editorial team.
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Tags: climate change, inflation, online travel agencies, prices, remote work, skift research