Consumer Habits

How do travelers choose, shop, and book their next vacation or business trip? Skift Research uncovers the behavioral trends driving demand, from Gen Z’s mobile-first mindset to boomers’ evolving spending habits.

We analyze where travelers discover new destinations, how they budget for trips, and what influences their final booking decisions.

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Whether it’s the rise of last-minute bookings, direct channels vs. OTAs, or loyalty program engagement, our research provides data-driven insights into consumer intent and behavior.

Explore our consumer habits research to stay ahead of emerging booking trends, shifting traveler expectations, and the future of travel demand.

Airlines

Skift Research Global Travel Outlook 2021

Glad this year is finally over? Us too! In its annual outlook, Skift Research looks forward to the big themes and challenges that it believes are in store for the travel industry as it begins the long uphill climb to recovery next year.

Seth Borko and Wouter Geerts | 5 years ago

Consumer Habits

U.S. Travel Tracker November 2020: Travel’s Dark Winter

In November, 32% of Americans traveled, wiping out all the slow gains since May. With raging new COVID cases across the country, this bleak travel number might actually be too high to help control the virus spread.

Haixia Wang | 5 years ago

Airlines

U.S. Travel Tracker October 2020: Slow Climb Continues

In October, 37.8% of Americans traveled, marking the smallest monthly increase since reaching the low point in April. Will the changing course of the pandemic, with a new President and possible vaccine, give the U.S. travel industry a much-needed boost in the coming months?

Haixia Wang | 6 years ago

Airlines

U.S. Travel Tracker September 2020: Onset of Fall Travel

Labor Day weekend didn’t provide a much-needed boost for the U.S travel sector. In September, 37% of Americans traveled, barely one percentage point higher than in August. The path of travel recovery ahead might be even rockier with summer vacation officially behind us.

Haixia Wang | 6 years ago

Airlines

U.S. Travel Tracker August 2020: Consumer Confidence Holding Strong

Summer was near the end and while still high, the number of new COVID cases declined substantially from the peak of July. Yet, the travel rate did not go up along this track. In August, 36% of Americans traveled, only one percentage point higher than in July.

Haixia Wang | 6 years ago

Airlines

U.S. Travel Tracker July 2020: Summer Vacation Main Driver Despite New Case Surge

Despite rising new COVID cases, 35% of Americans traveled in July. But most are not taking their typical summer vacations.

Haixia Wang | 6 years ago

Consumer Habits

U.S. Travel Tracker June 2020: Temporary Uptick

With 33% of Americans taking at least one trip, June travel tells a promising story of the reopening. But it might be a very short-lived promise.

Haixia Wang | 6 years ago

Consumer Habits

U.S. Travel Tracker May 2020: Early Signs of Recovery

The U.S. travel rate climbed to 24% in May, after dipping to 19% in April. However, a full travel recovery might take a very long time as more people start to realize COVID-19 is a longer-term battle.

Haixia Wang | 6 years ago

Business Travel

U.S. Travel Tracker April 2020: Emerging Consumer Segments

When and how consumers will travel again might have a lot to do with how their lives are impacted by COVID-19. Our April travel tracker analysis delves into the details.

Haixia Wang | 6 years ago

Airlines

Travel Winners and Losers During the 2008 Financial Crisis: Lessons for COVID-19

History doesn’t repeat but it often rhymes. While COVID-19 has different root causes than the financial crisis of 2008 there are still lessons to be learned from the last crisis that apply to the travel industry today.

Seth Borko | 6 years ago

Business Travel

U.S. Travel Tracker March 2020: Travel Sentiment Amid Lockdown

With travel restrictions in place, the U.S. travel rate in March dropped to 25% from 41% in February. What’s changed is also people’s outlook of travel on the other side of the pandemic.

Haixia Wang | 6 years ago

Consumer Habits

U.S. Travel Tracker January and February 2020: Onset of COVID-19 Impact

We are keeping track of if and how the U.S. population is traveling month by month and hope to detect signs of a rebound in the not too distant future.

Haixia Wang | 6 years ago