A JetBlue plane gets ready to depart for JFK airport in New York from the Cape Cod Gateway Airport.
HYANNIS – Even with vaccination rates on the rise and AAA forecasting a busy Memorial Day weekend for travelers, hotels may feel the financial impacts of the coronavirus for a while longer.
Sixty percent more Americans are expected to hit the road this year compared to 2020.
That figure is still about 6 million fewer than in 2019.
The American Hotel & Lodging Association (AHLA) said that the increase in vacationing travelers is welcome, however the industry’s largest source of revenue is still in recovery mode: business and group travel.
The organization said that urban markets, which rely heavily on business from events and group meetings, still face challenges from the lingering pandemic.
A national survey from Morning Consult commissioned by AHLA found that only 29 percent of Americans would consider traveling to a city or other urban destination this summer season.
Currently, business travel is down 85 percent in general from pre-pandemic levels, partially due to events, conventions and meetings being cancelled or postponed until next year.
The association said that business travel might only return to 2019 levels in 2023 at the earliest.
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