US Travel Trends Show Skyrocketing Interest in International Trips

US-based travelers almost doubled bookings to foreign destinations in April 2021, as compared to January 2021, according to data released this week by CheapOair. The data shows a significant increase of 89 percent, with seven of the top 10 destinations showing increases of more than 100 percent.

In April, US travelers’ top 10 destinations outside of the contiguous United States, ranked by percent of bookings increase, are Greece, showing a 337 percent increase in airline ticket bookings when compared to January numbers; Israel: 259 percent; the Bahamas: 203 percent; Jamaica: 143 percent; the Dominican Republic: 134 percent; Costa Rica: 106 percent; Puerto Rico: 103 percent; Mexico: 95 percent; El Salvador: 67 percent, and India: 19 percent. Naturally, this snapshot was taken before the recent surge, if not tsunami, of COVID cases in India, as new variants and flagging medical supplies continue to plague the population. Nor was Israel beset at the time by mounting conflicts with Hamas and street fighting in its cities between Arab Israelis and Jewish extremists..

“Vaccinations are continuing to roll out across the USA, so the American consumer is becoming more confident where travel is concerned. This, coupled with the stringent hygiene protocols put in place by airlines and airports worldwide, is fueling rising interest in booking airline tickets to global destinations,” said Glenn Cusano, Co-CEO of Fareportal, the parent company of CheapOair and One Travel. “The most recent information from the CDC shows that 58.9 percent of Americans have received at least one dose of the Covid-19 vaccine. That is a 79 percent increase from slightly more than one month ago. Air travel numbers are moving upward, and we expect to see them continue to rise as summer arrives in the northern hemisphere.”

For the latest country-specific information, consumers should check with the U.S. Department of State – Bureau of Consular Affairs before departing for their destination.

Post Pandemic Plea for Opening Borders

Meanwhile, a coalition of U.S. and European travel, airline, union, business and airport groups this week called on U.S. Secretary of Transportation (DOT) Pete Buttigieg and the Rt. Hon. Grant Shapps, Members of Parliament and the U.K. Secretary of State for Transport to start opening the U.S.-UK air travel market “as soon as safely possible.”

In a May 11, 2021 letter to both officials, the CEOs of American Airlines, British Airways, Delta Air Lines, JetBlue Airways, United Airlines, Virgin Atlantic and the U.S. airline lobby Airlines for America proposed a summit led by the two transportation secretaries “to explore a path to safely and expeditiously reopen trans-Atlantic travel in a manner that aligns with public health objectives” to support both nations’ economic recovery and reunite families.