For Most Americans, Summer Travel is Still a Go, Survey Finds

According to a new survey from The Manifest, a business how-to and news website, 67 percent of Americans are at least somewhat hesitant about flying this summer but only 23 percent have completely cancelled their travel plans.

The survey gauged 351 Americans’ comfort with travel in May 2020 and another 501 American opinions on travel during the COVID-19 pandemic in July 2020. The same percentage of people (67 percent) said they were uncomfortable with air travel in May as July 2020. Only 23 percent reported plans to fully cancel travel, 32 percent of people in the US are stopping additional travel planning and 15 percent are continuing to plan.

Residents of areas that have seen more success with flattening the curve are more comfortable with air travel now than they were in May 2020. For example, the number people in the Northeast who were very uncomfortable with flying decreased from 67 percent to 51 percent from May to July. Conversely, residents of virus hotspots since May 2020 are less comfortable with flying in July 2020.

Extreme discomfort increased from 35 percent to 43 percent in the West and from 48 percent to 58 percent in the South, mirroring spikes in positive coronavirus cases.

The survey found that more people 55 years old and above were very uncomfortable with air travel than people 18-34 years old in both May (59 percent vs. 45 percent) and July (56 percent vs. 44 percent).

Conversely, Americans ages 18-34 are also more likely to be at least somewhat comfortable with the idea of plane travel than those 55 and older. The survey also found that road trips were the preferred form of travel with an only 9 percent decrease for the July 4th weekend compared to 2019.

However, business travel is reported at an 80 percent drop with companies stating that they would be hesitant to send employees on the road until Covid-19 numbers were more under control.

The full report is available here. ​