Pure Travel
  • About
  • Destination Inspiration
  • Tips & Advice
  • Guide
  • Travel Writing
  • Cookie Policy (UK)
  • Conservation
  • Privacy
  • Travel Writing Competition 2025
  • Reviews
  • Travel Resources
  • T&C
  • Contact Us
  • Conservation
  • Privacy
  • Travel Writing Competition 2025
  • Reviews
  • Travel Resources
  • T&C
  • Contact Us
Pure Travel
Pure Travel
  • About
  • Destination Inspiration
  • Tips & Advice
  • Guide
  • Travel Writing
  • Cookie Policy (UK)
  • Did You Know?

Looking Back at Americans’ 2020 Holiday Travel

  • January 7, 2021
  • Jules

As we move past the holiday season and into the new year, many voices echo the same thing: the holidays didn’t really feel like “the holidays” this year. Due to COVID-19 concerns and cancellations, many Americans skipped over their usual holiday traditions like parties, religious services, and, notably, travel. 

Changes towards travel plans came at different times for many Americans. Well before the final weeks of December, survey results showed that around 29% of Americans had cancelled their plans to travel for family gatherings. Still, for many other Americans, positive COVID-19 results reported during the week of the holidays led to last-minute cancellations. 

Still, even with many people refraining from travel, or choosing to travel only by car, the TSA reported that for the six days before Christmas Eve, near or more than a million individuals traveled by plane. 

Those who did make the trip to the airport experienced holiday travel like no other. Many airports included health and safety questionnaires in their pre-flight check-ins. Airlines also took heavy precautions to assure that COVID-19 was not spreading, passing out sanitizing wipes and gel. Some airlines even alerted passengers if their flights would be especially full, giving passengers the option to take a less crowded flight. 

For those who did choose to travel though, there was still considerable risk to be had. Before the holiday season started, experts from the CDC warned people to refrain from travelling, gathering, and acting carelessly during the holidays. And now, as CDC experts predicted, those travellers are spreading the infection at record rates, starting the new year off with surges in nearly every state. 

However, even though we are all seeing the dire results of travel from the holiday season, many people are still hoping that they will be able to finally make postponed trips in 2021. Unfortunately, there’s no clear answer as to when travel will ultimately be completely safe for individuals and their contacts. Some individuals anticipate that airlines may require proof of vaccination to fly and most anticipate that rigorous testing will continue to be a part of the traveling experience, the New York Times reported. 

Perhaps the one saving grace in all of this has been the acceleration towards virtual gatherings. Over 20% of individuals had planned to celebrate their 2020 holidays virtually, suggesting that many are willing to forgo travel for safety and find creative ways to connect. Who knows? While 2021 may bring huge public health advancements, perhaps it will also bring technological developments that make online connection easier. 

Here’s hoping that the new year brings safety and connection, no matter where we’re staying or (hopefully) travelling. 

Share
Tweet
Related Topics
  • coronavirus and travel
  • covid travel
  • safe travel in 2021
  • travel in 2020
Jules

Previous Article
  • Destination Inspiration

Top Places to See in Baltimore on a Road Trip

  • January 5, 2021
  • Jules
View Post
Next Article
  • Tips & Advice

Tips to have a safe road trip in 2021

  • January 7, 2021
  • Jules
View Post
You May Also Like
Napoli
View Post
  • Did You Know?

Do You Know Which European Volcanoes are Active? Get Ready to Discover Them

  • Jules
  • May 27, 2025
what noise does a cheetah make?
View Post
  • Did You Know?

Video: What noise does a cheetah make?

  • Robert
  • April 10, 2025
View Post
  • Did You Know?
  • Reviews

Are These the World’s Worst Airlines? Here’s Why Travelers Are Complaining

  • Robert
  • March 8, 2025
View Post
  • Did You Know?
  • Planes, Trains & Automobiles: Tips & Advice

Navigating the skies: the role of aircraft management services in supporting business and leisure travel

  • Jules
  • October 17, 2024
View Post
  • Did You Know?
  • Tips & Advice
  • Travel Resources

Seattle Slip and Fall Accidents on Vacation: Protecting Your Rights and Ensuring Your Safety

  • Jules
  • July 8, 2024
View Post
  • Did You Know?
  • Travel Resources

Cruise Ship Accidents and How to Deal with Injuries and Seeking Damages

  • Jules
  • July 3, 2024
View Post
  • Did You Know?
  • Planes, Trains & Automobiles: Tips & Advice
  • Travel Resources

Flight Delay Compensation Calculator: Check Your Flight and Claim Up to £520!

  • Jules
  • June 25, 2024
View Post
  • Did You Know?
  • Lifestyle
  • Planes, Trains & Automobiles: Tips & Advice

Some Of The Various Seafarer Jobs On Container Ships

  • Jules
  • June 20, 2024
Pure Travel
  • About
  • Destination Inspiration
  • Tips & Advice
  • Guide
  • Travel Writing
  • Cookie Policy (UK)
A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step

Input your search keywords and press Enter.

Pure Travel
Manage Consent
To provide the best experiences, we use technologies like cookies to store and/or access device information. Consenting to these technologies will allow us to process data such as browsing behavior or unique IDs on this site. Not consenting or withdrawing consent, may adversely affect certain features and functions.
Functional Always active
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes. The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
Manage options Manage services Manage {vendor_count} vendors Read more about these purposes
View preferences
{title} {title} {title}