PULSE POINTS

BY JOSH CORMAN

THE COVID-19 VACCINE ROLLOUT and progress in reducing the disease ’ s active spread in early 2021 have travelers feeling more optimistic about taking the kinds of trips that were often not feasible for much of last year . That ’ s according to independent research conducted by Destination Analysts , which attempts to put an exact figure on that optimism . As of mid-February , just 23 percent of the 1,200 respondents surveyed thought that the situation surrounding the pandemic would get worse , while a record high ( Destination Analysts has conducted weekly surveys since last March ) 39 percent believed it would improve . That confidence has translated to views about travel . The percentage of Americans who view travel as somewhat or very unsafe has fallen to 46 percent .

Though those figures may not seem overwhelmingly positive , they do represent new benchmarks in traveler optimism , which is further illustrated by the percentages of survey respondents who are making actual plans to take trips in the coming months . Just over 80 percent of Americans have plans for one or more upcoming trips , according to Destination Analysts ’ research , with July set to be the busiest month for travel in 2021 . Nearly one in five travelers ( 19 percent ) surveyed noted that they had already booked lodging for an upcoming leisure trip .

Leaders of spas that rely on out-of-town guests for a significant portion of their business will likely be encouraged by those numbers , and even more so by figures

80 %

39 %

46 % 42 % 42 %