Spring Travel in Full Swing: Half of Americans Planning a Trip This Season

Although the idea of a vacation has felt like an impossible dream for such a long time, paradise may be on the horizon. Americans are becoming increasingly confident that life will soon return to normal — and they are keen to hit the road as soon as possible. In fact, a new Tripadvisor survey reveals that half of U.S. respondents (50%) are planning a trip this spring (March 1 through May 31).

Notably, millennials are more optimistic and eager to return to travel than any other generation:

• 58% of millennial respondents are planning a trip this spring (compared to 50% of all age groups).
• 71% of millennial respondents feel comfortable dining out this spring (compared to 62% of all age groups).
• 54% of millennial respondents believe day-to-day life will return to normal within three months (compared to 38% of all age groups).
• 56% of millennial respondents believe they will be better off financially in the next 12 months than they are today (compared to 41% of all age groups).

And while 2020 was the year of the staycation, with the vaccine rollout comes increasing confidence in bigger trips. Tripadvisor site data shows that of Americans who are actively planning a trip for spring on Tripadvisor, over one-third (34%) are searching for international destinations, compared to 66% searching for domestic destinations.

But which destinations are blooming this spring?
Not surprisingly, many Americans are setting their sights on sunny destinations near the ocean. The fastest-growing destinations this spring (those with the biggest increase in searches on Tripadvisor year-over-year) are in Florida, Mexico and the Caribbean. When choosing a stay, travelers are lusting after beach resorts and ocean views.

Meanwhile, iconic (and crowded) U.S. cities are continuing to have a slow recovery (based on volume of searches on Tripadvisor year-over-year). Americans are instead opting for outdoor, socially-distanced trips, with over one-fifth (21%) saying that COVID-19 has dampened their desire to visit a city this spring.