Americans take shorter road trips closer to home this Summer

SAN DIEGO – July 22, 2020 – Generali Global Assistance (GGA), today announced the findings of their Future of Travel survey conducted by Ipsos which surveyed 11,000 individuals across 11 countries in the US, Europe, and Asia between June 5^th and June 12^th. The Future of Travel surveyed respondents in the United States on their upcoming travel plans and preferences when it comes to accommodations, destinations, and the mode of transportation they plan to use on their next trip. Some of the key highlights from this year’s survey are below:

Planned Travel in 2020: While the coronavirus has slowed down travel, Americans are opting to take domestic road trips over a long weekend to more isolated destinations this summer.

• 73 percent said they plan to go on a vacation this year – compared to the Europeans surveyed as a whole, of which 81 percent said they planned to take a trip
• 47 percent indicated they would be traveling domestically this summer for their main trip, 5 percent outside the United States.

Duration and Budget: For their post-lockdown summer trip, most US travelers indicated they prefer a long weekend getaway with a few close traveling companions.

• 34 percent said they would be taking a long weekend getaway for 3-4 days this summer. While 35 percent said they would go on a week-long summer trip.
• 24 percent indicated they would travel with one other person while, surprisingly, 18 percent said they would travel with four to five people this summer.
• $2,450 is what they’ll budget for the trip, close to $650 more than their European counterparts (€2,171 compared to a budget €1,604 for European travelers).

Accommodations: Despite the potential for crowds, hotels were still the most popular accommodation for US travelers.

• 33 percent indicated they would stay at a private rental – up 17 percent from last summer.
• 46 percent of Americans indicated they planned to stay at a hotel this summer.
• 15 percent said they’ll be going camping.

Mode of Transportation: Preferences in mode of transport generally matched the shorter domestic trips people indicated they’d take this summer.

• 72 percent, the overwhelming majority of American travelers, indicated they’d be taking their car to their post-lockdown getaway this summer.
• 23 percent of US travelers indicated they would travel by plane this summer.
• 9 percent of travelers said they would be using a rental car this summer.

Covid Trip Protection: In the wake of the current pandemic, it’s no surprise that most travelers are concerned about the coronavirus on their next trip. While delay and cancellation was still the top reason to buy insurance, Covid related health concerns were close behind.  

• 81 percent of insurance buyers think important to have specific info on their COVID status before departure and during the trip.
• 87 percent find important to be covered for emergency medical and hospital expenses.
• 91 percent of Americans find important to be covered for delays and cancellations.

Destinations: When US travelers do go on their post-lockdown getaway this summer, these destinations were their top choices:

• 32 percent plan to visit friends and family after a long period of self-isolation.
• 22 percent plan to take a well-deserved beach holiday.
• 15 percent preferred a quiet trip to the countryside.

Methodology:

Online survey conducted by Ipsos at the request of Generali Global Assistance’s parent company, Europ Assistance, among 11,000 individuals (nationally representative samples of 1,000 people per country) in Europe (France, Germany, Austria, Belgium, Spain, Italy, Poland and the UK), in Asia (China and Thailand) and in the USA. This survey is an updated version of the annual Europ Assistance & Ipsos Holiday Barometer, which was getting underway when the general lock-down began. The goal of this survey is to ascertain how the Covid-19 epidemic has altered holidaymakers’ travel plans and aspirations, in order to assist the various players in the tourism sector in preparing for the “post-Covid world”.

For more information on this news release, please contact:

Sarah Duhautois
Research Associate Director
+33 1 41 98 98 31
[email protected]

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