The proliferation of vaccinations, along with pent up demand for travel has driven Americans to finally leave home and head out. The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) essentially tracks and counts every traveler passing through a TSA security checkpoint in every airport nationwide. The compiled data over the past year shows a dramatic downturn in travel in May 2020 with just over 176,000 daily travelers versus 1,500,000 daily travelers in May 2021.
Airlines, car rental agencies, restaurants, and hotels tend to benefit the most with an uptick in travel, which has been nearly dormant for the past year. The increase in travel also creates new jobs for the hospitality and travel industries, which were severely hit during the height of the pandemic.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) is expecting U.S. highway travel to rise by 15% this summer, from last summer. The EIA also forecasts that consumers will increase their spending on motor gasoline by about 31% this summer due to increased travel as the pandemic subsides.
Source: https://www.tsa.gov/coronavirus/passenger-throughput, EIA
