It weighs on demand and increases uncertainty about the future of prices

The high cost of travel in the United States despite the "Delta axis"

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The cost of travel and holidays has witnessed a remarkable rise this summer, especially with the return of demand for local entertainment sites in the United States, which means that travelers often pay more for flights, accommodation in tourist resorts and car rental, but the wave of infection with the “Covid-19” virus associated with it. With the delta axis, it has somewhat clouded expectations that costs will remain high through the rest of the summer.

And when it comes to travel today, consumer confidence is declining, according to a survey conducted by the marketing research company “Destination Analyst” with 1,200 American people per week, about their feelings about travel from March 2020 until August 9th.

The survey found that optimism has declined by 40% since early June, but only 20% of the respondents feel optimistic, the lowest level in a year to date. Inland tourist attraction.

The New York Times says that the Consumer Price Index, a monthly measure of the change in the average prices paid for consumer goods, shows that airline ticket prices rose by 7% between April and May, after increasing by about 3% in June, but settled down by 0.1%, in July.

Because travelers think about the threat posed by the “delta” mutator, many cancel their plans, and the American “Southwest Airlines” company said that the price movement was higher than July 2019 levels, but it changed its forecast for third-quarter profitability, pointing out that the company witnessed Finally, a slowdown in close bookings and cancellations of flights this August, which are believed to be driven by the recent rise in infections with the “Corona” virus.

While many expected the return of business travel in the fall, the "Corona" virus mutations may disrupt this recovery, which puts more downward pressure on travel tickets.

United Airlines, for example, plans to operate 26% fewer flights during the third quarter compared to the same period in 2019.

In line with pre-pandemic patterns, the travel booking application “Hooper” expects that prices for leisure travel tickets will decline in the fall, and also expects a 10% decrease in domestic airline ticket prices, a number in line with the levels of 2018 and 2019, and it expects that the average one-way ticket will reach The return trip within the United States is $260, compared to $288 this summer.

At some popular leisure destinations, hotels have not only achieved epidemic activity levels, but exceeded 2019 figures, driving prices to an average of $141 nationally for a night in a hotel room over the past month, according to STR Analytics. , compared to $100 last August and $135 in the same period in 2019.

However, prices in major cities remained low, with New York City averaging nearly $205 compared to $240 in 2019, but prices in Hawaii, the Florida Keys, and Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, blew up pre-pandemic standards, for example. The four-week average in August 2019 in Florida was $239, compared to $408 this month.

And while deals are still clearer in the largest US cities, Huber advises looking for additional last-minute price cuts, indicating an average price drop of 13% two weeks after check-in.

Beach destinations and resorts

Beach and resort destinations are “the kinds of destinations that short-term rentals are great for,” said Jimmy Lynn, head of research at AirDNA, noting that vacation rentals have turned many new travelers during the pandemic, who sought to get More space and more amenities, to longer stays.

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