Travel is not getting cheaper.
Strong demand after two years of pandemic lockdowns and other factors pushed up already high prices for airfare and hotels last month, with both hitting record highs.
Flight prices rose nearly 13 percent in May from the previous month and nearly 38 percent from May 2021. Hotel prices rose only slightly from April to May, but were 22 percent higher than a year earlier.
The price of an overnight stay in a hotel, motel or other form of out-of-home accommodation has risen relatively steadily over the past three decades, although it fluctuated as demand for travel was disrupted by the September 11 terrorist attacks, the 2008 financial crisis and coronavirus. pandemic.
Airfares were more erratic and stagnated for years after the terrorist attacks in 2001. Ticket prices rose steadily from 2009 to 2013, when prices peaked. However, in the years that followed, rates fell slowly and then collapsed as the pandemic spread.
“If you look at the rates, although they are much higher than the prepandemic lows, our rates in the second quarter will be about where they were in 2014 in real terms,” said Scott Kirby, the CEO of United Airlines. , said at an investor conference last week.
The average price of a domestic round-trip flight is $403, up 33 percent from the same time in 2019, according to Hopper, a travel booking site. International travel costs an average of $1039, up 17 percent from 2019.
Demand for flights is particularly high this year as pandemic restrictions have been lifted or relaxed in much of the country. Many people were also eager to shift their spending from goods to services after not having traveled much in the past two years. Tariffs have also risen due to the rising cost of jet fuel. Airlines have also been cautious about adding too many flights this summer for fear that tight schedules would make it difficult to deal with disruptions, causing a repeat of several disastrous episodes last summer and during the winter holidays.
Weekend getaways are especially popular this summer, as travelers are taking shorter trips than before the pandemic, according to Hopper. Within the United States, Atlanta, Denver, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Miami, and San Juan, PR, are popular weekend destinations. Popular international destinations include Cancun, Mexico; Mexico City; Vancouver, British Columbia; and Toronto.
Hopper found that fares for flights later in the summer are generally a better deal than those earlier in the season. Travelers can save more than $100 each on the cost of a domestic flight and hotel stay if they travel in late August instead of June or July.
