In this report, we take a closer look at travelers’ behavior and foot traffic patterns from November 1 through December 31 2021 compared to the same months in 2020 to help identify and capitalize on key learnings and trends.
Featuring Key Learnings including:
- Airports are busier than ever: Airports have seen a steady increase in traffic since early November 2020, leading to the biggest uptick on December 23 2021 (up +68% from early Nov 2020, and up +17% compared to the average day last year).What’s more, the average air traveler visited an airport roughly 6X during November-December 2021, up from roughly 4 visits on average in November-December 2020.
- Travel preferences have shifted as a result of the pandemic: With more Americans working remotely than ever before, airports are seeing fewer visitors on weekends compared to 2020. Monday, Thursday and Friday have overtaken Saturday & Sunday as the busiest travel days, with more people booking weekday & evening (red-eye) flights — perhaps taking advantage of lower fare options.
- Location data indicates increased comfort levels amongst older travelers: Airports saw an uptick in share of visits amongst older travelers, ages 55+ compared to 2020, accounting for roughly 1/3 of total airport traffic in November – December 2021.
- Behavior & affinities differ amongst various types of air travelers: Compared to the average American, people who visited an airport between Nov-Dec 2021 were 9% more likely to visit theme parks, 8% more likely to attend conferences, 8% more likely to visit ski lodges, and 5% more likely to attend hockey games.Airport visitors were also more likely to do some last minute shopping at Brooks Brothers, Zara, Nordstrom, Banana Republic & Sephora.
To explore more insights and learn about our findings, download the report here.
