It’s no secret that the 2020 holiday season looked very different for most people. Though there have been some marked achievements in the battle against the coronavirus pandemic over the last year, the highly contagious Delta variant is still fueling cases across the country—so what exactly does that mean for holiday travel this year? Over the weekend, Dr. Anthony Fauci said it’s “too soon to tell” whether or not it will be safe to travel or gather for the coming season, and that leaves us wondering: are people planning to forgo hitting the road and getting together once again? CivicScience checked in with the American public to see how they’re approaching their holiday plans, and here’s what we know:
Respondents are feeling much more confident in their travel plans this year compared to last year, most notably among those who don’t typically venture out during the holiday season. A combination of vaccine confidence, general pandemic fatigue, and longing to make up for last year’s comparatively quiet celebrations may be contributing to these increases.
It also seems as though a greater majority of respondents don’t anticipate their traditions and plans will be impacted nearly as severely as last year, with a 54% decrease in folks who were expecting to have a much different holiday season.
Respondents who are the most concerned about contracting the coronavirus report the lowest intent to travel during the holidays. Travel intent increases with people who are most concerned about spreading the virus, and those with zero concerns about COVID-19 are the most likely to hit the road.
Lastly, our data show that people who are the most concerned about spreading COVID-19 to others expect their holiday plans to change in the biggest way this year.
While the state of the coronavirus pandemic is ever changing, our findings paint a portrait of a nation that’s ready to go out and celebrate after the end of another difficult year.
