Navigating the road to recovery – Capturing road trip and domestic demand in North America

 

With COVID-19 vaccine distribution ramping up, travelers are looking ahead to spring and summer travel, and many are continuing to choose car travel as their preferred mode of transportation. A recent Expedia Group trends report found that in 2020, 30% of American travelers opted to drive over other methods of transportation, and car travel is here to stay for the foreseeable future, as road trips continue to eclipse air travel and other transportation methods.

Insights from an Expedia Group Media Solutions study further highlight the car travel trend. For both domestic and international travel to a neighboring country in April to September 2021, survey respondents consider driving a rental car safer than flying, taking a train, or taking a bus –second only to driving a personal vehicle. Six in 10 North American travelers took or would be willing to take, a road trip during the pandemic, and many travelers are in it for the long haul.

U.S. travelers would be willing to drive up to 8.6 hours for a leisure trip during the pandemic – or as many as 13.1 hours for the silent generation (born prior to 1946) and 10.6 hours for baby boomers.

Canadians are willing to drive 6.9 hours for a leisure trip, with Gen Z slightly eclipsing the national average at 7.3 hours. 

As of March 1, 2021, Expedia Group data shows that the 0-21 day window accounted for 50% of global travel searches, followed by the 31-60-day window at 15%. On Expedia Group sites in the U.S. and Canada, domestic searches continue to outpace international searches, with some slight variances by country. In the U.S., 80% of searches were domestic, while in Canada, domestic accounted for 65% of searches. This first-party data, along with insights from the custom research, indicates that destination marketers and rental car companies in North America have a timely opportunity to target domestic travelers who may be planning to hit the road for an upcoming getaway. And with travelers willing to take longer road trips, the geographic parameters for drive-market campaigns are expanding – meaning potential audiences are also growing.

To help inform marketing strategies, rental car companies and destinations should also review trending destinations, competitive sets, and traveler trends, and use these insights to further differentiate for travelers who may be considering multiple options. For example, Vrbo found that 63% of families across the globe prefer outdoorsy destinations over urban settings, and 60% want to travel to a new destination, rather than one they’ve been to before.

Top Drivable Destinations for the U.S. (Vrbo vacation rental demand comparing Jan. 1 – June 30, 2021 and Jan. 1 – June 30, 2020 as of Dec. 2020)

• Broken Bow, OK
• Boone, NC
• Naples, FL
• Gatlinburg & Pigeon Forge, TN