Rising inflation may be putting a damper on consumers’ travel plans. The rising price of gasoline and services around the globe could be translating into consumers thinking twice about traveling.
However, industry experts think that the COVID-19 lockdowns have only increased demand for travel. Having been social distancing for so long, some consumers are ready to get out again.
“Our latest data shows the pent-up demand for travel is overshadowing the current inflated prices of travel,” said Tori Emerson Barnes, the U.S. Travel Association’s executive vice president of public affairs and policy, in a CNBC article.
“When you have two years of people not traveling the way they want to travel and you have a lot of savings built up in that time period, prices can be really high and people are saying, ‘I don’t care. I just want to travel. I want to go somewhere,’” said Glenn Fogel, CEO of Booking Holdings.
According to a CNBC survey in tandem with Acorns Invest In You and conducted by Momentive, 40% of adults said that they would cancel plans if prices keep on rising. That would mean that 60% are still ready to spend on travel.
“We suspect we will continue to see leisure travel demand thrive,” said Paul Jacobs, general manager and vice president of Kayak North America.
“While we may see prices continue to increase, I anticipate they will only be modest increases,” Jacobs added.
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