Many families across America would usually be packing up right about now, getting ready for that last summer getaway to the Caribbean or Europe before Labor Day and the traditional start of school. But the coronavirus pandemic has upended travel, while remote work and remote learning have blurred the boundaries of the summer high season.
Some have managed to take time off over the past few months, often avoiding airplanes and sticking closer to home—burning gasoline instead of jet fuel as they drove to beaches, state parks and lakes. Hotels have been out and recreational vehicles in; big city shopping trips have given way to camping and hiking.
“There’s this big giant ball of pent-up demand that keeps running into this wall of fear of the coronavirus,” said Amir Eylon, chief executive officer of the market research firm Longwoods International. “The mindset is shifting, and people are figuring out what’s the acceptable level of mitigated risk to travel.”
Now that the sultry, golden days of late August are upon us, the urge to get away can be overpowering—fear notwithstanding. But there’s a silver lining in this fraught, tragic time when mass transit and big hotels seem too big a risk. With many offices still closed and likely to stay that way, and remote working (and schooling) quickly becoming the rule, your vacation plans don’t have to end with August.
The pandemic, it turns out, may have permanently changed how the country takes a break.
Americans, understandably, want to get as far away from each other as possible right now, since preliminary research shows virus transmission is more likely to happen inside. As a result, this summer’s emphasis on the great outdoors seems likely to continue into the fall, travel industry experts said.
Lesser known national parks have been getting a lot of online search interest, said Whitney Scott, vice president of marketing at Kampgrounds of America (KOA). “People want to try and find something where it’s not going to be crowded, where they can feel safe and they can have some privacy and peacefulness,” she said.
About one-quarter of travelers have reported changing their plans so they could drive (rather than fly) to a holiday spot, according to Longwoods. But even then, there are travel restrictions to deal with, such as New York’s 14-day quarantine rule for arrivals from more than 30 states. Staying in your own state has become the path of least resistance—kind of like camping in your own backyard.
“It’s very safe to say that road-trip travel, at least for the next six to 12 months, is going to be the preferred method of travel,” Eylon said.
Hotel and motel occupancy near outdoor vacation destinations is in the mid-50%-range, compared with normal summer levels of 90%, said Chip Rogers, CEO of the American Hotel and Lodging Association. City hotels, by contrast, have barely recovered at all, he said.