63% of American travelers expect the U.S. to enter an economic recession sometime this year and because of this, 65.7% say they are being careful with their money. This is likely contributing to the declining sentiment that now is a good time to spend on travel (currently at 26.4%, down 4 points from the start of summer). Still, 60.8% say they generally consider travel to be a worthwhile investment. Interestingly, an even larger proportion (74.8%) agreed that they still consider travel to be a worthwhile investment during a recession.
There is no question that live in-person meetings and events are making a strong comeback. According to a survey conducted by NorthStar Meetings Group sponsored by Cvent, 70% of planners said they are booking or actively sourcing in-person meetings and events. At the same time, rescheduling and cancellation of live events declined to 8%, an all-time low. The largest percentage of respondents (60%) said they were working on meetings of 101 to 500 attendees as more than 30% were planning meetings up to 1,000 attendees
Following four straight months of exceeding pre-pandemic levels, total travel spending was 3% below 2019 levels in August. Group hotel demand remained static at 11% below 2019 levels in August. Although optimism among meeting planners increased from 48% in June to 62% in August, the share of meeting planners citing event disruptions over the past 6 weeks rose to 24% in August, up from 20% in June. As international travel gradually recovers, overseas arrivals still remain 35% below August 2019 levels.
According to the Airlines Reporting Corporation, air ticket sales more than doubled year over year. Although the average round-trip U.S. air travel ticket price declined for the third-straight month, coming in at $526, it still represents a 9% increase over the average air ticket price relative to August 2019.
According to a survey of 2,200 U.S. adults, many consumers don’t understand what it means for a travel brand to be sustainable, and those who do tend to have broad or abstract definitions. A consumer who understands that their choice to go green will have specific and measurable results are more likely to buy in. The word sustainable alone doesn’t imply environmental sustainability to consumers; about 15% of respondents relate sustainability to brand or product attributes, including affordability, reliability, and a high quality of service.
New outdoor participants are more diverse than the overall outdoor participant base and are driving increasing diversity not only by ethnicity, but also across age groups. The outdoor participant base has increased by 6.9% since the COVID-19 pandemic began in early 2020; the growth in new participants and returning participants in 2021 was the highest ever recorded. Youth participation is climbing, and the number of participants 55 years and older increased more than 14% since 2019.
Despite the turbulent economic outlook for the U.S., 3 in 4 U.S. adults plan to spend the same or more money this year on holiday shopping. 47% of consumers might pare down holiday shopping and purchase fewer gifts. Noteworthy, are Gen Zers, who plan to splurge on their significant others spending $100 more than the average U.S. adult. As traditional linear TV subscriptions decline and the shift to streaming has become nearly universal, more than 1 in 3 U.S. adults report shopping online while watching streaming content, highlighting the need for smart cross screen connected campaigns to reach consumers across diverse platforms.
