2022 Summer Travel Trends: US Trips indicate travelers want a mix of destination experiences

• The United States has recovered 66% of its international summer travel bookings and 75% of its domestic summer travel bookings from 2019, based on flights booked in January through the end of April for trips taking place during summer months. 
• Travelers from the US want a mix of sea, sand, culture and cities when they go abroad this summer with Cancun, London, Punta Cana, Montego Bay and Rome all ranked in the top five international destinations.
• US travelers staying closer to home are taking trips to NewYork, Orlando, Seattle, Las Vegas and Los Angeles between the Memorial Day and Labor Day holidays.
• The majority of US flight bookings this Summer are families (36.4%), followed by couples (24.3%) and solo travelers (12.3%).
• The most common length of US Summer trips are one to two weeks considering all domestic and international travel taking place between the 2022 US Memorial Day and Labor Day holidays. 

LANGLEY, UK, May 24, 2022 – Travelport, a global technology company that powers travel bookings for hundreds of airlines and thousands of hotels worldwide, today released the below booking trends and data highlighting the top international and domestic destinations for US travel taking place between the Memorial Day and Labor Day holidays in the US.  While showcasing the top international and domestic destinations for the US, there are encouraging signs for the US travel and tourism industry’s recovery following two years of border closures and travel restrictions. 

Strengthening Travel Recovery in 2022 

According to Travelport’s booking data, for summer trips booked in January through the end of April this year, the US recovered 66% of its pre-pandemic international travel bookings, when comparing to international summer trips booked during the same time period in 2019. US travelers eager to head abroad are causing an upward trend in international flight bookings from the US in recent weeks as more international borders re-open and countries around the world are easing their travel restrictions for entry.  

While domestic travel recovery rates have outpaced international travel recovery in the US for nearly 2 years, in February 2022, the recovery rate for international travel bookings from the US peaked – and briefly surpassed the domestic travel recovery rate for the first time since the pandemic began.  

• When looking at flights booked in April 2022 alone, the US recovered a significantly higher portion of its pre-pandemic international travel bookings – reaching 76% of April 2019 booking levels. 
• Considering all gross bookings through end of April 2022, Travelport’s data insights indicate that the US has recovered 69% of pre-pandemic leisure travel bookings and 65% of its pre-pandemic business travel bookings during the summer travel season.  

Top Summer Travel Destinations for Americans 

The Top ten global destinations for international trips taking place between the US Memorial Day and Labor Day holidays, based on Travelport’s booking data: 

1. Cancun, Mexico (#1 in 2019) 
2. London, England (#2 in 2019) 
3. Punta Cana, Dominican Republic (#3 in 2019) 
4. Montego Bay, Jamaica (#7 in 2019) 
5. Rome, Italy (#4 in 2019) 
6. Paris, France (#5 in 2019) 
7. Athens, Greece (#9 in 2019) 
8. San José del Cabo, Mexico (#11 in 2019) 
9. Vancouver, Canada (#9 in 2019) 
10. Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam (#8 in 2019) 

• Based on current booking data, the top three international destinations for 2022 summer travel from the US are Cancun (#1), London (#2) and Punta Cana (#3) which were also the top three international summer destinations in 2019, respectively.  
• While Montego Bay (#4) has climbed into the top five for 2022 from #7 in 2019, Paris has fallen from the top five in 2019 to #6 this year. 

Top ten destinations for domestic trips taking place between the US Memorial Day and Labor Day holidays, based on Travelport’s booking data: 

1. New York (#1 in 2019) 
2. Orlando (#2 in 2019) 
3. Seattle (#4 in 2019) 
4. Las Vegas (#3 in 2019) 
5. Los Angeles (#5 in 2019) 
6. Honolulu (#6 in 2019) 
7. San Francisco (#7 in 2019) 
8. Boston (#9 in 2019) 
9. Denver (#10 in 2019) 
10. Chicago (#8 in 2019) 

• Additionally, current bookings indicate Seattle (#3) is vastly outpacing Las Vegas (#4) as a top domestic destination in 2022, although Las Vegas previously ranked higher in 2019.   
• While Boston (#8) and Denver (#9) edged up slightly by one position for 2022, Chicago has fallen from #8 in 2019 to #10 this year. 

For more travel trend data or insights, please contact the PR team at Travelport. 

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Notes for Editors: 

• All trend data is derived from Marketing Information Data Tapes (MIDT) data, which reflects collective GDS industry bookings. 
• Unless otherwise specified, data trends reflect bookings made between January 1, 2022 through April 30, 2022 for travel taking place anytime between May 30, 2022 (Memorial Day holiday) through September 5, 2022 (Labor Day holiday). 
• To identify recovery levels, 2022 booking data has been compared to pre-pandemic bookings made during the same time period in 2019 (January 1, 2019 through April 30, 2019).  

About Travelport: 

Travelport is a global technology company that powers bookings for hundreds of thousands of travel suppliers worldwide. Buyers and sellers of travel are connected by the company’s next generation marketplace, Travelport+, which simplifies how brands connect, upgrades how travel is sold, and enables modern digital retailing. Headquartered in London, United Kingdom and operating in more than 180 countries around the world, Travelport is focused on driving innovation that simplifies the complex travel ecosystem.