trivago Data Reveals Americans’ Appetite for Travel Strongly Correlated with COVID-19 Case Numbers

• For U.S. travelers, Mexico remains No.1 international destination
• Florida remains most popular domestic destination, but interest has fallen significantly in the first week of July
• Total search volume in the U.S. saw a slow recovery to 39% of January level in mid-June, but fell again in July to 29% of beginning of year value
• During the peak of the crisis in April, U.S. domestic searches fell to just 11% of January level, while click-outs decreased by nearly 91 percent
• At the end of June U.S. in-state travel increased by approximately 13% over January

DÜSSELDORF, GERMANY July 8, 2020 – As U.S. state borders begin to reopen and cities relax coronavirus pandemic restrictions, Americans are looking forward to the possibility of a summer vacation. As of mid-June searches for accommodations stood at 39% of January 2020 volume, but that number fell to 29% in early July as COVID-19 cases began to rise. Meanwhile, the total click-outs has steadily recovered and, since mid-May, exceeds 2019 levels. The signs of recovery are a welcome indicator following a nearly 90% collapse in search volume in April.

These results come from a recent analysis conducted by management consultancy McKinsey & Company using anonymized search query data from hotel price comparison site trivago. McKinsey evaluated general search requests and booking queries measured by click-outs, where the user clicks on a link to a selected offer, using data from January 2019 to July 5, 2020. This analysis found that concerns over travel restrictions, distance and crowding will play a major role in travel planning for the near term and likely longer. The findings show that Americans’ travel appetite is strongly correlated with COVID-19 case numbers. As cases rise, searches for vacation accommodations decline.

Based on this analysis, a dashboard was developed to interpret this data and identify travel behavior trends and critical success factors for travel brands.

Domestic destinations remain popular
The U.S. travel appetite for domestic destinations versus overseas locations was already high prior to the outbreak of the coronavirus, averaging 70% to 80% of search volume. Since June, that figure has increased to more than 90%. Additionally, more Americans are traveling within their home states. Compared to late June 2019, the share of U.S. travel within state of origin (intra-state) is 13% higher this year.