38% of Americans would choose travel over sex
We knew Americans are desperate to travel again – but we didn’t know just how desperate until now: 38% of Americans polled by Trivago said they’d give up sex for a year if they could resume traveling immediately. For Brits, the number was even higher: 40%.
The travel accommodation platform surveyed 2,000 Britons and Americans over the course of a week in early January.
In their research, Trivago also found that 1 in 5 respondents would dump their partner for a chance to hit the road again and a quarter said they’d trade all theirs savings for a trip. Nearly half of the Americans polled said they’d give up their jobs, too.
The survey also found that 81% of Americans cited lack of travel as one of the worst parts of the pandemic.
Although many Americans want to travel, there are some concerns about the global financial situation. The survey revealed that, due to inflated prices, the cost of travel is negatively affecting the mental health of half of Americans. Seventy-two per cent also said they had worries about the cost of travelling this upcoming holiday season.
This holiday season, 84 per cent of Americans are planning a trip: 72 per cent for Thanksgiving, 84 per cent for Christmas and 58 per cent for New Year’s Eve.
However, cost concerns aren’t slowing down travel spending, with the majority (40 per cent) of Americans spending between $5,000 and $8,000 on international trips. Thirty-four per cent are spending between $2,000 and $5,000, 15 per cent are spending between $8,000 and $10,000, six per cent are spending more than $10,000, and two per cent are spending less than $2,000.
Covid-19 no longer biggest travel concern travel over sex
The holiday travel fears that Americans still have include money worries and Covid-19, but they are not the top worries. Twenty-nine per cent said they are most concerned about dealing with a disaster, such as a hurricane, 25 per cent are most worried about losing their luggage and 24 per cent are most concerned about flight cancellations, delays or missing their flights.
Contracting Covid-19 is now the fourth highest concern of American passengers, with 23 per cent feeling this way, and 23 per cent are worried they will spend too much money while travelling.
Elad Schaffer, Co-Founder & CEO, Faye Travel Insurance:
“Travel is booming, even with worries over costs, fear of losing luggage and flight delays. Based on the numbers, consumers still plan on traveling this holiday season and beyond, meaning that now more than ever, the hospitality industry must step up to adapt to the next chapter of travel.
“Providers must acknowledge the need to implement innovations that address growing pains in order to pave the way for a smoother consumer travel experience for the remainder of this year and into 2023.”
Americans are back travelling with a vengeance, using more vacation days than ever before.