Memorial Day weekend wiped away any remaining question that Americans are ready to embrace post-pandemic travel. Nearly 10 million people passed through Transportation Security Administration screenings over that weekend, hundreds of thousands more than the same period in 2019. It was just the start of what experts forecast will be a bustling travel summer. 

That’s pretty good given that last summer was, as CNN put it, “hellacious,” with tens of thousands of flight cancellations. And yet our ardor is undimmed. That should not come as a surprise given the long-standing U.S. romance with travel. Fully 85% of U.S. adults said that they like traveling, according to a recent Harris Poll survey. And nearly half of all Americans (44%) said that they ordinarily take at least one personal trip (whether a full vacation or one in which they work remotely during the day and explore a new destination at night) at least once per year. A higher percentage, 48%, said that they plan to take a personal trip in the next six months. 

We conducted the poll to discern and understand the contours of the post-pandemic travel landscape—why Americans vacation and what factors they weigh in making their leisure travel plans. Aside from affirming that the U.S. is by instinct and choice a nation of road warriors, we drew three other insights: 

Follow the money—and experiences

Cost is the single most cited factor in how Americans decide where to vacation, with two-thirds of respondents identifying it as influential. Undoubtedly true during normal times, inflation’s lingering effects are keeping cost front of mind. Weather and destination type (beach, mountains, urban, etc.) were the other two factors most Americans cited (they garnered 58% and 51%, respectively). 

 The factors with the least influence are more telling. Americans are skeptical travel consumers, leery of how destinations are presented to them. So how a destination appears in the media (12%) was the second least-cited planning factor, with—sorry—advertising (10%) dead last. A stunning 68% of Americans agreed that travel content appearing online (whether through social media or blogs) “doesn’t reflect reality.” And it explains why only 13% of leisure travelers reported planning a trip based on something they saw online. 

Other data points help fill in a portrait of Americans directed by their personal preference rather than persuasion. Travelers more frequently report that they rely on their own experiences rather than that of others. “Previous experience” was the next most-cited travel factor (43%), while “reviews from other travelers” was the fourth-least mentioned factor (26%). 

Advertisers should rethink their campaign focuses, drilling down on the factors that motivate people by leaning into location-specific campaigns rather than broader activities or experiences. 

Different generational destinations

Distinct generational themes emerged on the opposite ends of the traveling populations’ age spectrum, so marketers will have to adjust their advertising approaches according to the group they want to reach. 

Baby boomers are more likely to travel than Gen Zers: 56% of boomers plan to take a personal trip in the next six months, versus only 43% of Gen Z—a difference undoubtedly driven by life stage and disposable income. The same demographic factors likely account for the fact boomers (53%) report more frequently than Zers (37%) that they rely on previous experiences to inform their vacation plans. And they’re more likely to care about the kind of weather they can expect (54% of boomers listed weather as an influential factor versus 41% of Gen Zers). This data seems to bear out the narrative of snowbirds seeking warmer climes. 

Conversely, greater brand loyalty, among other things, distinguishes younger Americans. One in three (33%) said that they prefer to book with the same airline whenever they travel, versus only 20% of boomers. (The national figure was almost squarely in between at 25%.) Emerging generations are also sharply more likely to travel for a specific event (such as a ballgame or show), with roughly 2 in 5 Gen Zers (39%) identifying it as a travel influence, making them almost twice as likely at boomers (21%) to do so. 

Gen Zers, who are more open to outside influences, report eight times more frequently than boomers to plan trips based on something they saw online (25% versus 3%). And they are also more driven by experience goals: Approximately half of Gen Zers said whether a destination is on their “bucket list” is a trip-planning factor, while only 36% of boomers said the same. 

COVID plays a role

We’re still working through pandemic travel fallout. Nearly 3 in 5 Americans said that COVID had changed what’s important in travel planning. This was especially pronounced among younger travelers, with 70% of Gen Zers agreeing, a figure that drops to 64% of millennials, 55% of Generation Xers and 52% of baby boomers. 

Only 16% of Americans said travel is a higher priority than it was pre-pandemic. That number is higher for Gen Zers (26%) and millennials (22%) but lower for boomers (12%) and Gen X (10%).

Similarly, Gen Zers (30%) and millennials (18%) are traveling more post-pandemic than older counterparts (9%) and the population as a whole (14%).

The pandemic still looms large, in other words, for those generations with whose early adulthood trajectory it interfered the most. Advertisers aiming at them must be aware of these sensitivities.