What you need to know

The pandemic has touched all parts of travel, but road trips, the quintessentially American form of vacation, remain comparatively strong. The appeal of road trips will continue as more people get vaccinated. However, as COVID-19 cases decline and travelers feel more comfortable about other forms of travel, road trip providers will need to focus on the benefits they provide to maintain the current competitive edge. Emphasizing the sense of escape and enjoyment the road brings can help providers sustain road trip momentum.

Key issues covered in this Report

  • The impact of COVID-19 on consumer behavior and the road trip market.

  • How the economic downturn has affected consumers’ preference for road trips.

  • How travelers plan for road trips.

  • Where consumer preferences lie when comparing road trips to air travel.

Definitions

For the purposes of this Report, Mintel has used the following definitions:

Road trip: A leisure trip taken in a motor vehicle of at least two nights in length that involves a stop at least four hours away from home

Road tripper: An adult aged 18+ who has been on a road trip in the past two years

Pre-Lockdown Phase: The period of time before COVID-19 restrictions were put widely into place in the US (ie January 2019-February 2020)

Post-Lockdown Phase: The period of time beginning when COVID-19 restrictions were put widely into place in the US (ie March 2020-February 2021)

COVID-19: US context

Data for this Report was in field between January 28 and February 10, 2021. The Report was written between March 1 and April 6, 2021. The first COVID-19 case was confirmed in the US in January 2020. It was declared a global health pandemic and national emergency in early March 2020. Across the US, various stay-at-home orders were put in place in spring 2020, and non-essential businesses and school districts closed or shifted to remote operations. The remainder of 2020 saw rolling orders, as states and local governments relaxed and reinforced guidelines according to the spread of the virus in each region.

Vaccine rollout began in December 2020. Based on current estimates of vaccine production and distribution, the US could reach herd immunity, with 70-85% of the population vaccinated, by late summer to early fall 2021. Mintel anticipates business operations in the US will remain in a state of flux through 2021 as the vaccine is widely administered.

Economic and other assumptions

Mintel’s economic assumptions are based on CBO estimates released on February 1, 2021. The CBO’s previous forecast for US GDP to fall by 5.8% in 2020 was revised after a stronger second half of the year and the updated estimate indicates negative 3.5% GDP for the year. The CBO forecast for GDP to grow by 4.6% in 2021 and unemployment to continue to fall to average 5.7% for the year do not take into consideration the impact of the $1.9 trillion economic relief package, which is expected to further boost growth.

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