Lebanon, N.H. – November 21, 2022 – Travelers are shrugging off inflation and working around anticipated flight disruptions for the holidays based on the results of the Global Rescue Fall 2022 Traveler Sentiment and Safety Survey. Despite inflation and the rising cost of travel, the majority of travelers (70%) have not canceled or postponed an international or domestic trip. To overcome airline staffing issues, more than half of travelers (55%) will fly nonstop whenever possible to minimize potential flight disruptions due to airline staff shortages during the fall and winter holidays.

“In the face of airline disruptions and the rising cost of travel, travelers are sticking with plans to travel,” said Dan Richards, CEO of Global Rescue, the world’s leading provider of medical, security, evacuation and travel risk management services and a member of the U.S. Travel and Tourism Advisory Board at the U.S. Department of Commerce.

Two-thirds (66%) of travelers will journey domestically for Thanksgiving or a similar holiday at the end of November, and 59% will travel domestically for the holidays during December, according to the survey.

“Travel is back to pre-pandemic levels and that means heavy crowds at airports. Travelers should book nonstop flights whenever possible to avoid delays or cancellations due to airline staff shortages. They should join a trusted traveler program like TSA PreCheck to move through security faster,” said Harding Bush, a former Navy SEAL and manager of security operations for Global Rescue.

Inflation is not curbing most traveler spending behavior. Nearly half (47%) of travelers are not making any changes while on travel but among those who are 11% are flying on less expensive plane tickets, 10% are lodging at less costly places, 8% are eating out less or at less expensive restaurants and another 8% are traveling for fewer days, only 4% are reducing or not buying souvenirs or gifts during their trip, according to the survey.

The survey also revealed growth in business travel, although not back to pre-pandemic levels. According to the survey, the majority of business travelers (71%) have already resumed business travel while another 14% expect to go back to business travel by summer of 2023.

Bleisure travel — a portmanteau of business and leisure that refers to a growing trend of business travelers tacking leisure days onto a work-related trip — may boost the return to business travel. The survey revealed that the majority of business travelers (73%) plan to use bleisure travel and take a few extra days for personal enjoyment following a business trip.

“Whether you’re an employer looking to use bleisure travel to incentivize a return to business travel or an employee looking to take advantage of it in the future, it’s important employers make certain their duty of care legal requirements are comprehensively detailed,” Richards said.  

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Contact Bill McIntyre at bmcintyre@globalrescue.com or 202.560.1195 (phone/text) for more information.    

About the Global Rescue Traveler Sentiment and Safety Survey     

Global Rescue, the leading travel risk and crisis response provider, conducted a survey of more than 1,000 of its current and former members between October 25 and 31, 2022. The respondents exposed a range of behaviors, attitudes and preferences regarding international and domestic travel.   

About Global Rescue     

Global Rescue is the world’s leading provider of medical, security, evacuation and travel risk management services to enterprises, governments and individuals. Founded in 2004, Global Rescue has exclusive relationships with the Johns Hopkins Emergency Medicine Division of Special Operations and Elite Medical Group. Global Rescue provides best-in-class services that identify, monitor and respond to client medical and security crises. Global Rescue has provided medical and security support to its clients, including Fortune 500 companies, governments and academic institutions, during every globally significant crisis of the last two decades. For more information, visit www.globalrescue.com.