{"id":12365,"date":"2022-05-27T15:02:53","date_gmt":"2022-05-27T15:02:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/?p=12365"},"modified":"2022-06-01T15:59:31","modified_gmt":"2022-06-01T15:59:31","slug":"the-year-of-the-travel-comeback","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/spring-summer-2022\/the-year-of-the-travel-comeback\/","title":{"rendered":"The Year of the Travel Comeback"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Tim Hentschel<\/p><\/p>\n

A<\/span>s the pandemic wanes and summer approaches, millions of Americans plan to \u2018Go Big\u2019 with their travel plans. Travelers are expected to spend nearly $2,500 on average for their summer vacation. And this is despite record-high inflation and gas prices. Simply put, the two years of pent-up travel demand appear to be greater than people\u2019s concerns over inflation or the next Covid variant. Most Americans have accepted that Covid is here to stay and are taking a risk-based approach with their travel plans.<\/p>\n

In fact, this year could be the year of the travel comeback, according to our research at HotelPlanner.com<\/a>. We\u2019re seeing a significant increase in individual and group leisure travel bookings, from weddings and family reunions to live music and sporting events to church trips.<\/p>\n

And our customer search windows are lengthening, indicating that people are planning their trips many months in advance. (You may want to book your Thanksgiving and Christmas travel now to lock in lower rates and ensure availability.)<\/p>\n

According to Destination Analysts<\/a>, a travel and tourism market research firm, about 90% of American travelers have at least one leisure trip planned in the next 12 months. That\u2019s a strong market indicator that the U.S. should surpass pre-pandemic travel spending levels by the end of this summer.<\/p>\n

For example, Florida has already surpassed 2019 levels, and more states will be announcing the same in the coming months. Travel & tourism is a massive driver of our post-pandemic economic recovery. In fact, the U.S. domestic travel & tourism sector\u2019s GDP contributions could reach nearly $2 trillion in 2022, a 6.2% increase from 2019, according to the World Travel & Tourism Council.<\/p>\n

As we emerge from the pandemic, we remain confident in people\u2019s desire to visit friends and family, conduct business, and explore new horizons. Here are some other trends we\u2019re seeing:<\/p>\n

\"\"

Preidlhof<\/a> is a wellness resort in Northern Italy known for its nine transformational wellness retreats. Shown here: Oliven Panorama Sauna. Photo. Preidlhof.<\/p><\/div>\n

Wellness Travel<\/h3>\n

Healthy Aging\u00ae readers likely know all about wellness travel, given their active lifestyles. Wellness travel has surged in popularity in recent years. People of all ages long for trips focusing on outdoor physical activities, such as cycling or walking tours, yoga retreats, holistic health events, and spiritual retreats.<\/p>\n

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Weddings are back in full swing. Photo: Deposit Photos<\/p><\/div>\n

Weddings are Back<\/h3>\n

After two years of postponements, there is only so long that a bride and groom can wait to make it official. This summer and early fall, wedding-related travel will probably be our company\u2019s most booked leisure trips. We\u2019re also seeing a rise in destination weddings to exotic locales.<\/p>\n

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Digital nomads can … work from anywhere. Photo: Deposit photos.<\/p><\/div>\n

The Rise of Digital Nomads<\/h3>\n

Remote work is a permanent shift in how and where people choose to work. Millions of remote workers with more disposable income and flexibility from their employers travel from city to city and book extended hotel stays for a week or more. Many hotels are already evolving their marketing approach to attract digital nomads. And many hotels are starting to add more office-like features and amenities to hotel rooms, such as printers and meeting spaces.<\/p>\n

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Canyonlands National Park, Utah. Photo: National Park Service<\/p><\/div>\n

The Great American Road Trip<\/h3>\n

In the past two years, we\u2019ve seen a return of the family road trip across the country. Millions are taking to our nation\u2019s highways and byways to visit National Parks and popular lake and mountain towns. Hotels and motels in those towns are all rebounding strongly.<\/p>\n

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Photo: Deposit Photos<\/p><\/div>\n

Luxury Travel<\/h3>\n

Given the pent-up travel demand and increased savings, many Americans choose epic (and more expensive) vacations to exotic locales. Think Fiji, Tahiti, or Thailand. Some, however, prefer privacy and fewer crowds. Others can now afford a more premium experience and are willing to pay for it.<\/p>\n

We believe these favorable tailwinds and trends represent a lasting change for the travel and hospitality industry. Now is the time to plan and book all your trips for the entire year to hedge against inflation and ensure availability. Travel is back!<\/p>\n

Tim Hentschel is Co-Founder & CEO of HotelPlanner<\/a>, a travel technology company and hotel booking engine powered by proprietary artificial intelligence and a global gig-economy-based travel agent concierge platform.<\/h5>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Travel is back!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":12429,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[154,155],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12365","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-spring-summer-2022","category-spring-summer-2022-features"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12365","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12365"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12365\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12777,"href":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12365\/revisions\/12777"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12429"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12365"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12365"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12365"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}