Emily Reeve and her husband usually spend Thanksgiving in Hawaii, Florida or Disneyland, but not this year.
“I have a baby now and I’m worried about being in a potentially unstable position if we travel after the election,” Reeve, 32, said.
The couple doesn’t have family near their home in Portland, Oregon, so they like to skip town for the November vacation. But they say not to get caught at an airport or a popular place and suddenly riot or loot etc. they will stay put this time to avoid confrontation, because people in the area are not satisfied with the result of the election.
Industry experts and travel agents say anxiety over the 2024 vote is causing some consumers to rethink where, when and with whom they will travel. And federal authorities say their security procedures are in place heading into the Nov. 5 polling day.
People like to be at home during elections. They don’t want to travel.
Delta Air Lines CEO Ed Bastian
Delta Air Lines CEO Ed Bastian He recently told CNBC he expected consumers to get “a bit of a break” in the weeks leading up to the election, as the carrier has seen in the past. “People like to be at home during the election period. They don’t want to travel,” he said. “I don’t think they want to spend money until they know what’s going to happen.”
While the pandemic boosted travel during the 2020 vote, so did Delta saw the request flag Orders increased again in the following weeks ahead of the 2016 election. United Airlines executives said this month expect a similar pattern and “don’t think there’s nothing to be surprised about.”
However, 64% of US adults said they would avoid traveling to the US because of concerns about unrest, depending on who wins. final survey By travel site The Vacationer. About a quarter said they would stay home only if Vice President Kamala Harris was elected, and only 16% said they would postpone if former President Donald Trump won; 24% said they would stay put regardless of the outcome, and about 36% said the outcome would not affect their plans.
Kelly Soderlund, spokeswoman for Navan online business travel management company, said businesses are also aware. Its domestic flight bookings fell 19% during election week compared to the same week last year. Orders for the next week are 42% higher than the previous seven days and 82% higher than the equivalent week a year ago.
“When we talk to customers about their biggest travel software concerns, managing care debt — employers need to keep workers safe — are near the top,” Soderlund said.
There are 2024 races deeply polarizedwith GOP allegations about voting procedures already established in war zones and Republican ticket hedging multiple times their records 2020 race and about their willingness to accept the current result. Officials strengthening of security at polling stations and covers both campaignsAfter two assassination attempts on Trump and widespread reports of threats against poll workers.
The Transportation Security Administration “remains ever-vigilant in this heightened global threat environment,” a spokeswoman said, adding that federal air marshals “continue to perform critical in-flight security missions” to ensure the safety of travelers and other duties. “We prepare for all contingencies and use multiple layers of security, visible and invisible.”
Jeffrey Price, who runs aviation security consultancy Leading Edge Strategies, said fliers could see increased airport security in the coming weeks. Along with more uniformed officers, “passengers may also include law enforcement officers in plainclothes,” he said.
Still, 38% of US adults plan to travel this holiday season, up from 34% last year, according to research firm MMGY Travel Intelligence. found in the last survey. Concerns about rising travel costs have declined, with 61% of travelers worried about it this season, compared to 68% last year. According to PwC consulting company. Travel agents say this has left more room for political jitters to enter consumers’ travel considerations.
The thought that we might go abroad because of the internal turmoil was enough to hasten our plans.
Olivia MacLeod Dwinell, 64, of Portland, Ore.
“A few months ago, a lot of families were spending on vacations and spending more than they normally would,” said Sonia Bhagwan, owner of Dreaming of Sun, a Portland-based agency that has previously booked Reeve’s Thanksgiving trips. More recently, he said, “the driving factor is the uncertainty about what the economy will look like after the election.”
That’s partly why Olivia MacLeod Dwinell, 64, and her husband Ross Dwinell, 74, were in Europe this month.
“Regardless of the outcome, it’s going to be difficult for a while after the election,” Dwinell said. Their trip to London and France was Ross’ first trip abroad, and “the thought that we might go abroad because of domestic turmoil was enough to accelerate our plans,” Dwinell said. “We are not young and we are less cowardly than in the past.”
Kimberly Kracun, owner of Destinations by Kimberly in Harpers Ferry, West Virginia, said she was recently approached about booking a cruise for a multigenerational family. But two members of the group work for the federal government, “and they’re worried about their jobs and possible layoffs after the election,” he said. Current government funding only lasts until December 20 and there is a danger of closing if the lame duck Congress can’t close a year-end deal.
“They have now decided to wait another year for the holiday,” Kracun said.
Travel worries aside, some people worry about what might happen when they finally meet their relatives.
Only 22% of travelers expect politics to cause conflict during family gatherings this year. according to the last survey by Future Partners, a tourism market research company. But that rate jumps to about 38% of Gen Z and 29% of millennial travelers, compared to just 11% of Baby Boomers.
Chirag Panchal, founder of Dallas-based luxury travel agency Ensuite Collection, has a client who typically books Thanksgiving trips with family members spread across the country. “But this year is different,” he said.
After some tense political conversations within the family, the children raised concerns about friction at holiday gatherings, Panchal said her client told her. So the parents stay in Dallas while the kids make separate plans.
For now, “they’ve canceled going anywhere as a family,” she said.