Inflation Forcing Americans to Change Summer Travel Plans

Travelers walk through Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in Arlington, Va., on April 19, 2022. (Stefani Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images)

High rates of inflation are forcing Americans to change their summer travel plans according to a March 2022 survey by Bankrate.

In the survey, 69 percent of respondents said they changed travel plans due to rising costs. While 25 percent have decided to take fewer trips or travel a shorter distance, 23 percent are engaging in cheaper activities, 22 percent are picking cheaper destinations or lodging, 19 percent are traveling for fewer days, 16 percent are driving instead of flying, and 13 percent are flying instead of driving.

According to the Hopper Price Tracker, a “good deal” round trip domestic flight on May 1, 2022, cost $384.48, which is over 47 percent higher than the $260.78 “good deal” airfare on May 1, 2021. It is also the highest airfare recorded on the price tracker since 2018.

But despite higher prices, the pent-up demand for travel is likely to win out over inflation concerns, the survey found.

“After being cooped up for a couple of years because of COVID, people are ready to get back out there this summer, even if it means paying higher prices and potentially cutting into their savings or taking on debt,” said Ted Rossman, a Bankrate senior industry analyst, in the survey report.

Based on the survey, 61 percent of Americans plan on taking at least one trip in summer 2022, with 72 percent of Generation Z, 65 percent of millennials, 61 percent of Generation X, and 58 percent of baby boomers “very likely” or “somewhat likely” to go on a trip.

While only half of the households who make less than $50,000 are planning on a vacation, the number rises to 75 percent among households earning $100,000 or more.

Several U.S. airlines like Alaska Air Group, American Airlines, and United Airlines have predicted their current quarter revenues to surpass the pre-pandemic level due to a boost in travel activity.

Online travel agency Booking Holdings Inc. saw gross travel bookings rise almost two-fold in the quarter when compared to the same period in 2021.

“Despite an uncertain macroeconomic environment, we have seen continued strengthening of global travel trends so far in the second quarter of 2022, and we are preparing for a busy summer travel season ahead,” Booking Holdings CEO Glenn Fogel said in a statement (pdf).

In a survey conducted by American Consumer Credit Counseling in the first quarter of 2022, 50 percent of respondents said they were postponing or modifying travel and vacation plans due to inflation.