After a year of unprecedented lockdowns, Americans are greeting the opportunity to go on summer vacation with unprecedented enthusiasm.
IPX 1031 compared a survey from January that found 48% of American expressing enthusiasm for the coming summer season, but that was still at the height of lockdowns, and now that it’s summer and planes are flying and hotels back open that number has skyrocketed to 85%!
Shayla Northcutt, of Northcutt Travel Agency in the Heights, says the enthusiasm is palpable. “It really is,” she gushes. “You know you always want something a little more than you can’t have. And since that was taken away from people they want it even more.”
75% are ready to go, and 55% have already booked their trip.
The 13th Annual Vacation Confidence Index predicts American vacation travel expenses this summer will exceed $150 billion for the first time in the ten years they’ve been tracking the numbers. The average, they find, will be $2,122.
It’s kinda like being a kid standing at the edge of the pool, afraid to jump in. Northcutt says people still want assurances that travel can be fun and safe, but squeal with delight when confident of the opportunities that await.
photo: Getty Images