Americans plan to hit the road this summer
June 2- This summer is set to be a busy one as more Americans begin to make plans to travel and enjoy the great outdoors. Many say that it’s important to live in the moment as the reopening progresses, and a majority agree that they value friends, family and leisure time more now.
Stories this week:
- Americans’ travel plans pick up
- How will 2021 travel spending compare to previous years?
- How Americans value their friends, family, and money as the reopening speeds up
- Women more likely to get emotional support at work
- Men unwilling to cry in public
Americans’ travel plans pick up
As the reopening speeds up, Americans are making plans to get out more in the next six months, according to the Axios-Ipsos Coronavirus Index. A majority plan to take road trips, and around half plan to visit cities and stay in hotels.
On all counts, the pace of activity is set to pick up considerably compared to what Americans have been doing since the beginning of 2021. This new expansiveness comes as the perceived risk of all activities and the prospect of returning to “normal life” drops off.
How will 2021 travel spending compare to previous years?
With the unofficial start of summer underway, one in five young Americans traveling this year intend to spend more on their travels than they typically do, Country Financial/Ipsos polling finds.
Overall, those who report plans to travel tend to be older, with a larger proportion of the over 35 crowd’s budget staying the same as it has in previous years. In particular, for seniors, that may be because, according to our research, they mainly plan to travel to visit friends or family.
The same survey found that those under 35 with 2021 travel plans are more likely than their older counterparts to travel domestically, take trains or buses, stay in an Airbnb or rental home, and/or visit a big city.
Americans are living in the moment as reopening progresses
As America begins to shake off pandemic restrictions, a majority of Americans agree that it is important to live in the moment and that tomorrow “will take care of itself.” A majority say they value friends, family and leisure time more now.
But when it comes to preparing for the post-COVID future, and particularly around setting aside money to feel more financially secure, Americans reveal a significant divide in opinion across the genders. And while men and women alike are in close agreement that they want to save more than they have in the past, women are more likely to demonstrate a more cautious approach overall.
Among women, 85% say that it’s important to have savings to handle unexpected crises, compared to 77% of men. But the most striking difference lies in how men and women fundamentally feel about the value of money. Close to half of men agree that “money is to be enjoyed,” and that when they have it, they spend it. Just three in ten women see things the same way.
Women more likely to get emotional support at work
Working women are more likely to get emotional support from their colleagues, and are also less likely to report that work negatively affects their relationships with family and friends, an analysis of Ipsos polling finds.
Most working women (63%) have at least one person they can turn to for emotional support in their office, 24-points ahead of men on this question. While most working women in the survey felt that work-related stress didn’t affect their relationships with friends or family, men were 10-points behind women on this question.
The American Psychological Association and other reporting points to similar findings, with women more likely to connect with others while under stress and have that connection be part of their stress management toolbox.
Men unwilling to cry in public
Though feeling stressed or sad is not exclusive to one gender, women are more likely to say they have cried in public than men.
Overall, 26% of Americans say they have cried at work, 21% at school and 13% at the airport. Women are more likely than men to say that they have cried in all locations, with two in five women saying they have cried at work compared to just one in ten men.
