Summer 2021 & Revenge Travel Survey — Nearly 68% To Travel This Summer; 25% Will Revenge Travel

2024 Update – Summer 2024 is around the corner, and we have new data! See our Summer Travel Survey & Trends 2024 article for more information.

In our recent COVID-19 Vaccine Travel Survey, we found that nearly 74% of people would agree to some form of COVID-19 Vaccine Passport. These “passports” would enable airlines and border authorities can check vaccination status and COVID-19 test results. This survey also indicated that more than 50% of the population felt comfortable traveling right then or once they have received the vaccine. Since that survey was conducted, the pace at which the US is administering vaccine doses has rapidly increased. We have now had several days where over 3 million doses of the vaccine have been administered.

As more people continue to be vaccinated, we decided to conduct this Summer 2021 & Revenge Travel Survey. We set out to analyze how strong the desire for travel is right now. With most people cooped up recently, how many will travel this summer? How many will “revenge travel” after not being able to because of Covid-19? Below you can find the results of our survey.

Would you have President Trump back another four years in order to travel normally and safely again with no restrictions?

Let’s take a look at the survey results:

• Yes, and I voted for him in 2020. — 27.99%
• Yes, but I did not vote for him in 2020. — 14.37%
• No, and I voted for him in 2020. — 7.84%
• No, but I did not vote for him in 2020. — 49.81%

Interesting Demographic Comparison — Older Trump voters are more likely to have him back in office to travel normally and safely. 40.96% of Trump voters over 60 said they’d take him back in office to travel safely right now. This is substantially more than the 27.27% of those aged 45-60 that voted for him and would take him back to travel safely with no restrictions. Additionally, the over 60 figure is larger than the 26.36% in the 30-44 age category and the 22.40% for ages 18-29. Alternatively, the youngest people that said they did not vote for Donald Trump are most likely to have him back to safely travel without restrictions. 16.80% of those aged 18-29 said this while only 12.05% over age 60 did. Younger people may be more flexible with who is in office if they can do what they want — travel.

Key Takeaway — Only 42.36% of people would agree to have Donald Trump back as president to travel normally and safely again with no restrictions. In 2020, Donald Trump won 46.8% of the popular vote in 2020. This means 4.44% fewer people that actually voted for him would take him back even if it meant the world could return to normal travel. 4.44% of Trump’s 74 million-plus votes indicates there are approximately 3.3 million people that actually voted for Donald Trump but still will not take him back to travel again safely.

How do you feel traveling now that Joe Biden is president?

Let’s take a look at the survey results:

• More safe. — 38.81%
• Less safe. — 19.78%
• About the same. — 41.42%

Interesting Demographic Comparison — Respondents to the survey living in the East South Central region which encompasses the states of Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama and Mississippi are the most likely to feel Less Safe traveling now that Joe Biden is president. A total of 44.83% of survey respondents in this region feel less safe traveling now that Joe Biden is president. This is not surprising since Donald Trump overwhelmingly won these states during the 2020 election. Alternatively, respondents in the Middle Atlantic region which includes the states of New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania are the most likely to feel More Safe now that Joe Biden is president. 47.54% of this region feel more safe. Similarly to Donald Trump with the East Central region, Joe Biden won all the states in the Middle Atlantic region during the 2020 election.

Key Takeaway — Nearly 40% of people feel more safe traveling now that Joe Biden is president. Based on the current census, the 38.81% that feel more safe represents almost 100 million Americans aged 18 or older. This is a substantial figure. It is nearly double the 19.78% or approximately 50 million Americans 18 or older that feel less safe traveling now that Joe Biden is president.

What would you be willing to do in order to travel normally and safely again with no restrictions? (Check All that Apply Except If You Are Checking the Last Choice.)

Let’s take a look at the survey results:

• Spend a night in prison. — 16.79%
• Not see your best friend for a year. — 22.01%
• Not eat your favorite food for a year. — 24.25%
• Not exercise for a year. — 23.13%
• Not have sex for a year. — 18.10%
• None of these. (If checking this choice, check nothing else.) — 38.25%

Interesting Demographic Comparison — The survey shows that 10% more men than women would agree to spend a night in prison to travel normally and safely again with no restrictions. Conversely, 6% more women than men would agree to not have sex for a year for the same travel benefits. These data points seem to fit the stereotypes of men wanting to feel “macho” and craving sex more than women.

Key Takeaway — 61.75% of Americans or more than 157 million people would agree to either spend a night in prison, not see their best friend for a year, not eat their favorite food for a year, not exercise for a year or not have sex for a year to travel normally and safely again with no restrictions. Many people would agree to do more than one of these. It is evident people are craving to travel. They are even willing to do abnormal tasks to go back to normal.

Do you plan on traveling this summer?

Let’s take a look at the survey results:

• Yes. — 67.72%
• No. — 32.28%

Interesting Demographic Comparison — Nearly 11% more men than women state they plan to travel this summer. This is similar to our COVID-19 Vaccine Travel Survey where men were more comfortable traveling right now. Additionally, our May 2020 Survey also had the trend of men being more willing to travel during the pandemic.

Key Takeaway — 67.72% of Americans over 18 or nearly 173 million people plan to travel this summer. When you add in children, this figure will surpass 200 million people. This is a substantial number of people that will be traveling as we continue to fight the pandemic. The CDC is recommending if you do travel to take the following steps, even if you are vaccinated, to protect yourself and others.

Once the COVID-19 pandemic is officially over, how frequently do you plan to travel?

Let’s take a look at the survey results:

• More than before COVID-19. — 25.00%
• Less than before COVID-19. — 16.98%
• Same as before COVID-19. — 58.02%

Interesting Demographic Comparison — People in the Mountain region which includes the states of Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, Utah, and Nevada are the most likely to travel more than before COVID-19 once the pandemic is over. 37.84% of people in this region stated they plan to travel more. These states tend to be more open and less populated than many other states. They also attract more adventurous people so it should be no surprise that they want to get out and travel more.

Key Takeaway — 25.00% of people plan to travel more than before COVID-19 once the pandemic is officially over. This is much more than the 16.98% that say they plan to travel less. Over the last year, there has been much discussion about “revenge travel”. That is people have restrained their travel desires so much during the pandemic that they intend to “make up for it” as soon as they can. The uptick in TSA checkpoint traffic shows that this revenge travel may have already started.

Survey Methodology

This March 2021 Survey was conducted by SurveyMonkey on behalf of The Vacationer. In total, 535 Americans over the age of 18 were polled on March 20. Of the individuals surveyed, 48.60% were male and 51.40% were female. The age breakdown of participants included in this survey was 23.36% in the range 18-29, 24.11% in the range 30-44, 37.01% in the range 45-60, and 15.51% over 60. This survey has a confidence level of 95% and a margin of error of ±4.323%. You can learn more about SurveyMonkey’s sampling method by clicking here.

The questions were chosen and the results were analyzed by the post author, Eric Jones, who is a Mathematics and Statistics Professor at Rowan College South Jersey.

Further Reading: How to Find Cheap Summer Flights

Featured Image via Pixabay