04/29/2022

Updates 04/29/2022: Ohio's Travel Industry and Current Travel Research

FEWER TRIPS, SHORTER DISTANCES AND LESS EXPENSIVE ACTIVITES ARE HOW TRAVELERS ARE ADJUSTING TO RISING FUEL COSTS AND INFLATION

Key findings from Bankrate fielded March 2022

• 69 percent of those planning summer vacations this year say they are changing their plans due to higher gas prices and inflation
• Taking fewer trips (25%), traveling shorter distances (25%), engaging in cheaper activities (23%), booking less expensive accommodations (22%), shortening the trip (19%), driving instead of flying (16%) and flying instead of driving (13%) were how they were changing their trips due to inflation and higher gas prices.
• Household income plays role, with 56% of households who earn less than $50,000 planning a vacation versus 75% of those with households with incomes of $100,000 or more.
• Parents with children under 18 are more likely to take a summer vacation (75%) versus adults with no children (56%)
• Among those not planning a summer trip, 48% said they can’t afford it, 27% are not interested and 20% said they’re concerned about the ongoing pandemic.

OHIO TRAVELER SPENDING STILL DOWN. GROUP DEMAND RISING SLOWLY.

Key findings from US Travel accessed April 29, 2022

• Ohio travel spending in March was down 7% from 2019. This is an improvement from last March when spending was down 31% from March 2019. Although Ohio gained 24 percentage points, this is slightly below national figures.
• Across the nation, traveler spending was down 5% in March 2022 compared to 2019. This is a gain of 29 percentage points from last year.
• To date, Ohio has experienced a loss of $10.7 billion in traveler spending since January 2020.
• National hotel demand recovered to 3% under its 2019 benchmark in March, but is less than its peak in December 2021.
• Group demand rose to 23% below its 2019 levels, reaching a new peak.
• In March 2022, 31% of art museum visitors were out-of-towners compared to 28% last year.