The summer vacation season is getting closer. After a year of lockdowns, more people are looking at ways to save on their family trip.
A survey by Bankrate shows half of Americans are determined to break out and spend some bucks after being cooped up for a year.
The people who won't take a vacation? Stats show they’re staying home not because of COVID-19, but because of the cost.
Dawn Kelly from Travel Connections in Oregon went from a year of having few travelers to being swamped.
Our collective attitude about living within a COVID-19 world has changed.
“People are generally getting more comfortable with it. Even people I’ve spoken to that two months ago they weren’t comfortable with it, suddenly they are and they’re booking trips," explained Kelly.
Resorts and airlines did have deals to attract business. But domestic travel? Sand and sun? It’s expensive!
“You’re talking Destin, you’re talking a lot of the beach areas, Key West. Some of ‘em were double the cost I would expect to see, because they can,” said Kelly.
So a $1,500 vacation turns into a $3,000 dollar trip. That changes expectations. Talk to a travel professional to find deals.
And deals are in Mexico or the Caribbean.
“Best value is always international travel because our U.S. wages are so high, so the workers internationally are paid considerably less than domestic workers," said Kelly. "So a lot of that all-inclusive value things like that, but some folks can't do it because they don’t have a passport.”
So two factors go into a vacation. Your comfort level with the virus, and how much you want to spend.