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U.S. travelers in 2020 were, on average, younger than travelers in 2019, likely due to the fact that Covid-19 tends to more adversely affect those over 65, according to purchasing data from travel insurance comparison site Squaremouth.com.
Squaremouth found that the average traveler’s age last year was 38, down significantly from age 50 in 2019. This change is also reflected in insured trips: Baby boomers insured the most amount of trips “by far” in 2019, Squaremouth said. Now, Generation X represents the largest group of purchasers.
Travelers are also spending less. Since the pandemic began, the average cost of a trip being insured has dropped by 13%, Squaremouth said.
With closed borders and varied entry requirements during the pandemic, travelers’ destinations — not surprisingly — shifted.
Before Covid-19, Squaremouth said, international trips made up 90% of all insured trips. That figure has dropped to 67% since the pandemic began.
European travel previously accounted for 45% of all trips, down to less than 10% of travel going into 2020, according to Squaremouth. Travel to the Caribbean, however, has increased in popularity for those countries that remain open to U.S. travelers.
The Caribbean’s popularity is evidenced in the fact that seven of its destinations — Costa Rica, Turks and Caicos, U.S. Virgin Islands, Bahamas, Aruba, Dominican Republic and Jamaica — appear in its list of top 20 spots during the pandemic. Prior to the pandemic, the only four Caribbean destinations that cracked the top 20 list were the Bahamas, Costa Rica, the Cayman Islands and Aruba.
Since the pandemic began, Squaremouth’s top 10 destinations are, in order, the U.S., Mexico, Costa Rica, Canada, Italy, Turks and Caicos, South Africa, France, U.S. Virgin Islands and Greece.
Before the pandemic, its top 10 destinations were, in order, the U.S., Mexico, Italy, Bahamas, France, Spain, Israel, Australia, Canada and Germany.
The U.S. has consistently been Squaremouth’s top destination, both before and during the pandemic.
Source: travelweekly.com
