Report: Tripadvisor Releases Seasonal Travel Index Results (March - May 2023), Outlining Traveler Sentiment and Insights in Several Markets including: United States, United Kingdom, Australia, Japan and Singapore

Rhea-AI Summary

Tripadvisor's Seasonal Travel Index for March-May 2023 reveals that 66% of travelers plan to travel during this period, with 50% intending to spend more than last year. The U.S. shows the highest eagerness for travel at 94%, while 41% of global respondents plan to travel more. Inflation appears less of a deterrent with 37% still traveling as planned. Major cities like Paris and New York are top destinations, while the Asia-Pacific region sees substantial hotel demand growth. This season, affordability remains the prime factor influencing trip planning for 65% of travelers.

Positive

• 66% of surveyed travelers plan to travel between March and May 2023.
• 50% intend to spend more on their trips compared to last year.
• 41% plan to travel more than they did last year.
• Inflation has less impact on travel plans than in previous indexes.
• Major cities like Paris and New York are top global destinations.
• 13 of the top 15 fastest-growing destinations are in Asia-Pacific.

Negative

• 58% of travelers will change their travel behaviors due to rising living costs.

• Two-thirds of travelers surveyed planning trips between March and May 2023
• Half (50%) plan to spend more this upcoming season, compared to the same period last year
• Almost half (45%) will travel the same amount, while two in five 41% plan to travel more
• Major cities - including Paris, London, New York and Rome - dominate the list of top global destinations

NEEDHAM, Mass., March 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Tripadvisor^®, the world's largest travel guidance platform, releases its first Seasonal Travel Index of 2023, providing an outlook for travel patterns and demand over the next three months.

Overview
The majority of travelers (66%) plan to travel in the upcoming season (March 1-May 31) according to consumer sentiment research commissioned by Tripadvisor in six key global markets. Around 9 in 10 of these travelers (86%) plan to travel the same amount or more compared to last year, with this figure highest in the U.S. (94%) and lowest in the U.K. (81%).

Inflationary pressures appear to have less impact on travel planning, when compared to data from previous editions of the Seasonal Travel Index. Almost two in five travelers (37%) intend to travel as planned between March and May 2023, despite rising living costs, versus less than a third (32%) between December 2022 and February 2023. For those intending to change travel plans due to rising prices this upcoming season, 31% will travel less or take shorter trips, while 27% will vacation closer to home.

Consistent with previous Indexes, affordability (65%) remains nearly twice as important as other factors like trip length (35%) and trip type (31%) when planning a trip. Despite this, travelers look set to maintain travel spend this season, with half of travelers surveyed (50%) planning to spend more this upcoming season, compared to the same period last year, also broadly consistent with the previous edition.

When it comes to destination planning, three in five travelers surveyed (59%) plan to travel domestically for their primary trip over the next three months, consistent with the previous Index. Roughly a third of global travelers surveyed (66%) plan to return to a place they've visited before, while only a third will visit somewhere new.

With spring around the corner in the Northern Hemisphere, major cities - including Paris, London, New York and Rome - dominate the list of top global destinations between March and May. In the Southern Hemisphere, Australian travelers are looking to more sun-drenched destinations, with the majority of top ten international destinations located in Southeast Asia.

In a trend that continues from previous Indexes, 13 of the top 15 fastest growing global destinations (those that have seen the largest year-on-year growth in hotel demand on Tripadvisor) are all based in Asia-Pacific countries, many of which have only recently reopened to international travelers or continued to loosen restrictions over the past 12 months.

"As seen in previous editions of our Seasonal Travel Index, consumer appetite for travel remains strong as we head into the spring months in the Northern Hemisphere," said Alice Jong, Research and Insights Senior Analyst, Media at Tripadvisor. "Destination-wise, we can expect robust demand for city breaks from Northern Hemisphere travelers, with several of the world's most iconic capitals dominating the list of most popular destinations."

The following sentiment survey and Tripadvisor platform metrics provide a global overview of traveler demand, with breakdowns of seasonal behavioral data by market surveyed. 

Seasonal Travel Index (March - May 2023)

Trip Characteristics
Of those surveyed, two-thirds (66%) of respondents plan to travel this upcoming season, between March and May 2023.

• US: 64%
• UK: 71%
• AUS: 66%
• JP: 49%
• SG: 78%

Of those, 86% plan to take between 1-2 trips, with U.S. respondents over indexing for taking six or more trips.

• US: 1-2 trips (78%), 3-5 trips (17%), 6+ trips (4%)
• UK: 1-2 trips (90%), 3-5 trips (9%), 6+ trips (1%)
• AUS: 1-2 trips (92%), 3-5 trips (6%), 6+ trips (1%)
• JP: 1-2 trips (84%), 3-5 trips (13%), 6+ trips (2%)
• SG: 1-2 trips (83%), 3-5 trips (14%), 6+ trips (3%)

Collectively, two in five respondents (41%) are planning to travel more this upcoming season than they did last year.

• US: 48%
• UK: 45%
• AUS: 47%
• JP: 20%
• SG: 56%

The majority (59%) plan to travel domestically for their primary trip.

• US: Domestic (82%), International (18%)
• UK: Domestic (48%), International (52%)
• AUS: Domestic (72%), International (28%)
• JP: Domestic (93%), International (7%)
• SG: Domestic (10%), International (90%)

Most (66%) plan to return to a destination they have visited before.

• US: 68%
• UK: 69%
• AUS: 72%
• JP: 65%
• SG: 72%

Traveler Spend

Half of travelers globally (50%) plan to spend more on their biggest trip this upcoming season compared to the same period last year.

• US: 59%
• UK: 43%
• AUS: 47%
• JP: 34%
• SG: 56%

Over half of global respondents (58%) plan on changing their travel behaviors as a result of rising living costs, a lower number than previous travel indexes

• US: 56% (35% will travel less/for shorter periods, 21% will vacation closer to home)
• UK: 54% (27% will travel less/for shorter periods, 27% will vacation closer to home)
• AUS: 56% (29% will travel less/for shorter periods, 27% will vacation closer to home)
• JP: 45% (20% will travel less/for shorter periods, 25% will vacation closer to home)
• SG: 66% (34% will travel less/for shorter periods, 32% will vacation closer to home)

Rising energy costs will also influence upcoming travel behaviors, though less than rising living costs, with 54% claiming they will impact travel decision making.

• US: 51%
• UK: 49%
• AUS: 46%
• JP: 44%
• SG: 63%

Cost/affordability (65%) is nearly twice as important to respondents as other factors such as trip length (35%) and trip type (31%) when planning a vacation, consistent with prior data. 

• US: Cost/affordability (66%), trip length (43%), trip type (34%)
• UK: Cost/affordability (69%), trip length (36%), trip type (32%)
• AUS: Cost/affordability (72%), trip length (45%), trip type (32%)
• JP: Cost/affordability (75%), trip length (29%), trip type (31%)
• SG: Cost/affordability (59%), trip length (35%), trip type (23%)

Top Destinations - March 1 to May 31, 2023

Global

• Dates of search: December 1, 2022 - January 25, 2023
• Dates of travel: March 1 - May 31, 2023

Overall	Domestic	International
1. Paris, France	1. Orlando, U.S.	1. Paris, France
2. London, U.K.	2. Las Vegas, U.S.	2. Cancun, Mexico
3. Cancun, Mexico	3. New York City, U.S.	3. London, U.K.
4. New York City, U.S.	4. Key West, U.S.	4. Punta Cana, Caribbean
5. Rome, Italy	5. London, U.K.	5. Rome, Italy
6. Punta Cana, Caribbean	6. Honolulu, U.S.	6. Amsterdam, The Netherlands
7. Orlando, U.S.	7. Miami Beach, U.S.	7. Barcelona, Spain
8. Amsterdam, Netherlands	8. Nashville, U.S.	8. New York City, U.S.
9. Barcelona, Spain	9. Fort Lauderdale, U.S.	9. Dubai, U.A.E.
10. Las Vegas, U.S.	10. Lahaina, U.S.	10. Cabo San Lucas, Mexico

United States

• Dates of search: December 1, 2022 - January 25, 2023
• Dates of travel: March 1 - May 31, 2023

Rank	Domestic	International
1.	Orlando, Fla.	Cancun, Mexico
2.	Las Vegas, Nev.	Punta Cana, Dominican Republic
3.	New York City, N.Y.	Cabo San Lucas, Mexico
4.	Key West, Fla.	Paris, France
5.	Honolulu, Hawaii	Playa del Carmen, Mexico
6.	Miami Beach, Fla.	London, U.K.
7.	Nashville, Tenn.	Montego Bay, Jamaica
8.	Fort Lauderdale, Fla.	Puerto Vallarta, Mexico
9.	Lahaina, Hawaii	Palm - Eagle Beach, Aruba
10.	New Orleans, La.	Providenciales, Turks and Caicos

United Kingdom

• Dates of search: December 1, 2022 - January 25, 2023
• Dates of travel: March 1 - May 31, 2023

Rank	Domestic	International
1.	London	Paris, France
2.	Edinburgh	Amsterdam, The Netherlands
3.	Liverpool	Benidorm, Spain
4.	York	Costa Adeje, Spain
5.	Blackpool	Dubai, U.A.E.
6.	Manchester	Rome, Italy
7.	Windermere	New York City, U.S.
8.	Bath	Barcelona, Spain
9.	Glasgow	Antalya, Turkey
10.	Birmingham	Marrakech, Morocco

Australia

• Dates of search: December 1, 2022 - January 25, 2023
• Dates of travel: March 1 - May 31, 2023

Rank	Domestic	International
1.	Melbourne	Singapore, Singapore
2.	Sydney	Seminyak, Indonesia
3.	Brisbane	Legian, Indonesia
4.	Surfers Paradise	London, U.K.
5.	Cairns	Sanur, Indonesia
6.	Port Douglas	Paris, France
7.	Hobart	Nusa Dua, Indonesia
8.	Adelaide	Bangkok, Thailand
9.	Perth	Patong, Thailand
10.	Noosa	Honolulu, U.S.

Japan

• Dates of search: December 1, 2022 - January 25, 2023
• Dates of travel: March 1 - May 31, 2023

Rank	Domestic	International
1.	Urayasu	Seoul, South Korea
2.	Konohana	Honolulu, U.S.
3.	Hakone-machi	Bangkok, Thailand
4.	Chuo	Paris, France
5.	Sendai	Singapore, Singapore
6.	Naha	London, U.K.
7.	Maihama	Taipei, Taiwan
8.	Minato	Rome, Italy
9.	Onna-son	Hanoi, Vietnam
10.	Shimogyo	Da Nang, Vietnam

Singapore

• Dates of search: December 1, 2022 - January 25, 2023
• Dates of travel: March 1 - May 31, 2023

Rank	Domestic	International
1.	Singapore	Seoul, South Korea
2.	Sentosa Island	Bangkok, Thailand
3.	Jurong	Hong Kong, China
4.		Shinjuku, Japan
5.		London, U.K.
6.		Paris, France
7.		Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
8.		Seminyak, Indonesia
9.		Shimogyo, Japan
10.		Osaka, Japan

Most popular day and week to travel by country - March 1 to May 31, 2023

• Dates of search: December 1, 2022 - January 25, 2023
• Dates of travel: March 1 - May 31, 2023

Country	Most Popular Day of Travel	Most Popular Week of Travel
United States	March 11	March 8-14
United Kingdom	April 1	March 29 - April 4
Australia	April 7	March 1-7
Japan	March 18	March 15 -21
Singapore	March 11	March 8-14

Methodology
The data cited in this release was gathered and analyzed from two key sources:

A Tripadvisor Consumer Sentiment Survey, based on data drawn from an online survey of over 2,100 consumers, in partnership with Qualtrics, conducted between January 8 and January 20, 2023 across five countries - U.S., UK, Australia, Singapore and Japan.

Site behavioral data sourced from first party traffic data on the Tripadvisor platform, gathered between December 1, 2022 and January 25, 2023, for searches made by travelers in the U.S., U.K., Australia, Japan and Singapore for travel between March 1 through May 31, 2023.

Authors
This report was compiled by Tripadvisor's research (Alice Jong) and communications (Duncan Skehens) teams in partnership with survey results conducted by Qualtrics Research.

About Tripadvisor
Tripadvisor, the world's largest travel guidance platform*, helps hundreds of millions of people each month** become better travelers, from planning to booking to taking a trip. Travelers across the globe use the Tripadvisor site and app to discover where to stay, what to do and where to eat based on guidance from those who have been there before. With more than 1 billion reviews and opinions of nearly 8 million businesses, travelers turn to Tripadvisor to find deals on accommodations, book experiences, reserve tables at delicious restaurants and discover great places nearby. As a travel guidance company available in 43 markets and 22 languages, Tripadvisor makes planning easy no matter the trip type. The subsidiaries of Tripadvisor, Inc. (NASDAQ: TRIP), own and operate a portfolio of travel media brands and businesses, operating under various websites and apps.

* Source: SimilarWeb, unique users de-duplicated monthly, January 2023
** Source: Tripadvisor internal log files

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SOURCE Tripadvisor

FAQ

What percentage of travelers plan to travel in March-May 2023?

66% of travelers plan to travel during March-May 2023.

How many travelers intend to spend more on their trips this season?

50% of travelers plan to spend more compared to the same season last year.

Which cities are the top global destinations this spring?

Top destinations include Paris, London, New York City, and Rome.

How does inflation affect travel plans in 2023?

Inflation impacts travel plans less this season; 37% of travelers will stick to their original plans.

What travel trends were observed in the Seasonal Travel Index?

The index shows 41% of travelers plan to travel more and affordability is a key planning factor.