Tripadvisor Survey Finds Half of U.S. Respondents Are Planning Trips This Spring

NEEDHAM, Mass. — As U.S. traveler confidence improves, a new Tripadvisor survey finds that half of U.S. respondents are planning a trip this spring between March 1 and May 31, 2021. The Tripadvisor Consumer Sentiment Survey is based on data drawn from an online survey of more than 2,000 across six countries (U.S., U.K., Australia, Italy, Singapore, and Japan) in partnership with Qualtrics.

According to the survey results, millennials are more optimistic and eager to return to travel than any other generation: 58 percent are planning a trip this spring compared to 50 percent of all age groups; 71 percent feel comfortable dining out this spring compared to 62 percent of all age groups; 54 percent believe day-to-day life will return to normal within three months compared to 38 percent of all age groups; and 56 percent of millennial respondents believe they will be better off financially in the next 12 months than they are today compared to 41 percent of all age groups.

While 2020 was the year of the staycation, the vaccine rollout may be prompting increased 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 percent) are searching for international destinations compared to 66 percent searching for domestic destinations. Many are searching for sunny destinations near the ocean; the fastest-growing destinations this spring (i.e., those with the biggest increase in searches on Tripadvisor year-over-year) are in Florida, Mexico, and the Caribbean.

Meanwhile, large 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 percent) saying that COVID-19 has dampened their desire to visit a city this spring.

Below are the 10 fastest- and slowest-growing destinations for U.S. travelers in Spring 2021, according to Tripadvisor searches by U.S. users for travel between March 1, 2021, and May 31, 2021, as compared to last year’s volume.

10 Fastest-Growing Destinations for U.S. Travelers

1. Isla Verde, Puerto Rico
2. St. Thomas
3. Playa Maroma, Mexico
4. Tulum, Mexico
5. Key West, Florida
6. Key Largo, Florida
7. Miami Beach, Florida
8. Christiansted, U.S. Virgin Islands
9. Cruz Bay, U.S. Virgin Islands
10. Fort Myers Beach, Florida

10 Slowest-Growing Destinations for U.S. Travelers

1. New York City
2. San Francisco
3. Washington, D.C.
4. New Orleans
5. Los Angeles
6. Nashville
7. San Diego
8. Las Vegas
9. Chicago
10. Nassau, Bahamas