2022 is The Year for Holiday “Revenge Travel” for Many Americans

All travel plans, whether for leisure, business, or the holidays, were canceled because the entire travel industry came to a standstill for two years due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Now that stay-at-home orders and travel bans have been lifted, everyone’s naturally itching to go on the road and see friends and loved ones for the holidays. More and more people are even planning to travel for the holidays despite their financial issues.

2022 is Going to Be a Busy Holiday Season

According to the Holiday Outlook 2022 report by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), traveling is back and may exceed pre-pandemic levels. 47% of respondents reported that they are planning to travel during the holiday break. Almost half of the respondents are planning to travel by plane, but most of them plan on hitting the road. Many, however, indicated that they would probably end up utilizing a combination of road and air travel to reach their holiday destinations.

Many people are still sticking to domestic travel, and based on the survey, there’s a shift back to traveling to popular vacation spots and big cities. But the demand for international travel is steadily rising to pre-pandemic levels. According to the survey respondents, the increase in holiday travel can be attributed to the rise of remote working, the pent-up need to travel, and many people being ready to reschedule all the trips that were canceled during the pandemic.

People are Still Concerned About Money and Covid-19

Despite many people gearing up for holiday travel this year, they are still concerned about the escalating travel costs. 74% of survey respondents cited rising fuel costs as their main concern, 68% indicated high travel costs as their primary concern, and 58% were more concerned about hotel prices.

But the prices of hotels and air travel are linked to supply and demand. With air travel, there is a huge mismatch between what airlines can offer and what people are demanding. They simply haven’t been able to increase capacity quickly enough to cater to all the leisure travelers, which is mostly where the demand is coming from, and can charge more money for ticket costs.

Another huge concern is flight cancellations that are expected to continue, especially during the holiday season, and the higher risk of weather disruptions because of the colder months. For travelers who are concerned about flight cancellations, experts suggest having alternate travel plans and adequate travel insurance.

While most travel destinations do not have restrictions anymore, travelers are still worried about catching Covid-19. Getting travel insurance that covers Covid-19 is a main concern for travelers who have bought insurance for their holiday travels. Almost 22% searched for travel insurance policies that cover Covid-19-related costs and purchased a policy that includes coverage for issues related to Covid-19.

Be Prepared for Accidents and Injuries

If you are traveling for the 2022 holidays, there is always the possibility a mishap will occur and result in injuries. This could be a car crash, slip and fall at the airport, hotel accident, and more. You should take steps to protect yourself and your rights if an accident happens. Always go to the emergency room or urgent care for a medical diagnosis and treatment. Then, reach out to a personal injury attorney for an evaluation of your legal options for possible compensation.