Key Takeaways from Destination Analysts: February 1st Update on The State of the American Traveler

The following provides NYSTIA Data Analyst Ryan Maercklein's insight and takeaways from the February 1st State of the American Traveler webinar presented by Destination Analysts.

The presentation encompassed a few important topics including travel sentiment, economic concerns, and travel motivations. We would like to thank Destination Analysts for publishing this data and making it available for us to share.

The most significant takeaways from the February 1st webinar are:

1. Travel Sentiment: Anticipation of leisure travel continues to grow which leads to an escalation in the number of travel plans and reservations being made.
   1. On average, consumers ranked their excitement for leisure travel as an 8/10, the highest it has been in over 2 years.
   2. In January 2023, we experienced an increase in travel reservations being made with 16.5% of respondents to the survey having made reservations within the previous week.
2. Economic Concerns & Travel Prices: Despite finances weighing on consumers’ minds, their outlook remains optimistic.
   1. 30.1% of travelers believe they are in a better financial situation now than they were in the previous year, a figure that has grown from 25% in September, 2022.
   2. Looking forward, 45.1% of individuals feel that they will be in a better financial position a year from now than they currently are.
   3. Additionally, 56.1% of people are prioritizing travel spending when they consider how they’ll be utilizing their income within the next 3 months.
   4. However, 41.7% agreed that high travel prices have kept them from traveling in the past month.
3. Travel Motivations: Understanding what motivates consumers to travel is critically important, and what appears to be the most valuable to travelers is to spend quality time with friends and family.
   1. What are considered “tier 1 motivators” are spending time with friends and family, creating memories, experiencing new places, escaping the pressures of daily life, and recharging and rejuvenating.
   2. “Tier 2 motivators” include connecting with nature, visiting historical landmarks, experiencing cuisines, opportunities to learn, living in the moment, a specific personal interest, and romantic experiences.