Summer travel poll: 61% of Americans likely to travel for leisure

29.05.2024 - 13:10 / traveldailynews.com / Theodore Koumelis / Kevin Carey

Inflation remains a significant obstacle to economic growth for the hotel industry.

WASHINGTON – Sixty-one percent of Americans plan to travel overnight for leisure in the next four months and 34% of Americans expect to increase their overnight leisure travel this summer compared to last year, according to a new Summer travel poll survey commissioned by the American Hotel & Lodging Association (AHLA) and conducted by Morning Consult.

The Summer travel poll poll found that 31% of Americans said they plan to increase their number of hotel stays this summer compared to last summer.

Regarding business travel, 35% of Americans said they expect to take an overnight business trip in the next four months, and 16% said they plan to increase their level of business-related travel this summer compared to last summer.

Hotels remain the top lodging choice for both business (60%) and leisure (46%) travelers this summer.

Despite ongoing economic headwinds like labor shortages and high interest rates, these poll results offer a welcome boost for hoteliers. However, the survey shows that persistent inflation remains a significant obstacle to growth for hoteliers and other travel-related businesses. It found that over the next four months:

The poll surveyed 2,202 U.S. adults from April 25-28, 2024. Other findings include:

“This survey shows hotels are poised to benefit from a strong summer travel season, but it also underscores that inflation remains a stubborn obstacle to growth for our industry,” said AHLA Interim President & CEO Kevin Carey. Nationwide labor shortages, high interest rates, and aggressive regulations pose serious economic challenges for hoteliers. AHLA is taking the fight to all levels of government to remove these obstacles and support our members.”

Theodore is the Co-Founder and Managing Editor of TravelDailyNews Media Network; his responsibilities include business development and planning for TravelDailyNews long-term opportunities.