Expedia Travel Recovery Trend Report Q4 2021

An 18-page report detailing Expedia’s analysis of its first-party data and custom research.   

Key findings include that: 

  • Search volumes in Q4 remained up on a year before despite the emergence of the Omicron variant 
  • There has been a notable drift towards long search horizons, with an uptick in those looking for travel 31+ days in the future, accounting for 40% of all searches, while 0-21 day horizon searches have fallen back  
  • Nearly nine-in-ten Americans and Europeans are intending to travel for leisure within the next six months 
  • While in some world regions there has been a trend for long-haul travel searches North Americans remain primarily focussed on travel closer to home, although separate Expedia research suggests that many Americans are looking at long-haul options for later in 2022 
  • Vacation rentals have proven a particularly popular search choice in the past few months 

Perhaps indicating a growing willingness among consumers to visit ‘crowded’ destinations the past quarter has seen strong growth in searches and bookings for city destinations.  Equally there appears to be a gradual return to business travel with bookings up 110% compared with the equivalent period of 2020. 

The report makes an interesting observation that one-third of all accessibility-related feedback comments from travellers recount a bad experience.