2021 American travel boom less likely than previously thought, survey finds
Expectations for 2021 are high. Earnings estimates are ticking upwards, the stock market continues to crest, and people talk of a "Roaring '20s" boom as Americans emerge from their COVID cocoons to spend, go out, and travel.
"I think the vaccine is going to help a lot," said Jason Ader, SpringOwl Asset Management CEO and a former leisure analyst. "I think right now there's very little people want to do other than finally go out and travel. And so that's a great thing. And so I think we'll be a year from now, and things will start to feel a bit more like normal."
The question is how much.
Hotel bookings spiked last month on positive vaccine news, but it may only be relative — simply better than a 2020 fraught with deaths, shutdowns, and unemployment.
A new poll from Yahoo Finance and The Harris Poll examined evolving attitudes to travel as vaccines are disseminated throughout the population and light at the end of the tunnel appears. Unfortunately, the light is far away and the travel industry may not be primed for a boom just yet.
"Most Americans are eager to start traveling again, but travel likelihood may also be affected by the lack of disposable income to spend on travel as well as vaccination status," Harris Poll analysts found.
