According to the Hankook Tire Guage Index, Americans are still planning to travel in the coming holidays despite the uncertainty and anxiety brought by COVID-19.
About 74% will be changing when and how they will venture out. Only 16% are willing to go on personal travels that are more than 6 months long. This shows that there’s more apprehension when it comes to planning for extended travels.
About 78% of those planning to travel will do so by car. They will drive to their destination as a safety precaution. Many are also planning to do some form of quarantine. About 70% plan to quarantine once they return home while 64% will do it leading to their trip and 61% upon arriving at their destination. Many Americans (about three-quarters) are also adjusting their travel routine, choosing to travel early to avoid the usual peak travel times.
According to the SVP and COO of Hankook Tire America Corp. Peter Jung, it’s not easy to predict exactly how people will travel this year considering the challenges faced by many. However, the survey shows that most people are changing the rules that we are used to when it comes to road travel. A lot of people will want to see their friends and family. To stay safe, they are changing plans to allow time for quarantine and beat traffic. In addition, home for holidays is changing in meaning as more Americans plan on staying closer to home.
In the survey, Hankook Tire found that about 26% of Americans plan to stay home during the holidays. This is up from 9% before COVID-19 started. More and more Americans are also feeling confident driving. Hankook says that daily driving is gradually resuming to normal levels as opposed to what was reported during spring.
The figures also show that:
- About 60% of Americans are getting behind the wheel daily compared to only 20% in April. Road trips take a big chunk of this portion.
- About 72% of those surveyed said that they had been on a road trip since COVID-19 started. This was either for leisure or out of necessity.
- Road trips are rising at a faster rate compared to air travel. Americans are twice as comfortable traveling long distances by car (46%) than by plane (24%).
- 93% of millennials have already taken a road trip this year. But, boomers (54%) and the Silent Generation (70%) are not comfortable doing long distances no matter the type of transportation used.
The Hankook Tire Gauge Index is a survey by Hankook that studies the opinions and attitudes of Americans when it comes to driving. The latest survey was carried out Sept. 24-27 and had 1,044 respondents aged 18+ who poses a valid U.S. driver’s license.