New data has shown that there are further reasons for the downturn in the US travel industry. Along with the COVID outbreak, new data has shown that the rising inflation rate is severely impacting the travel and tourism industries.

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) saw its fastest jump since December 1981 with a rise of 8.5 percent in March year-over-year and 7.9 percent in February, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).

Yahoo Finance posted two days ago on Instagram “Where Inflation is…and isn’t” shows that several travel-related industries have felt the wave of inflation. Below is a brief snapshot showing the increase of prices over the last year:

Hotel rooms: 25.1 percent
Rental cars: 23.4 percent
Airline fares: 10.7 percent
Restaurants: 6.9 percent

There are numerous factors that have impacted these prices from rising fuel costs, supply chain and more, but as travel is roaring back, consumers are worried over rising prices.

As some airlines have reported their highest ticket sales in history, U.S. passenger traffic is actually 11 percent lower than pre-pandemic levels. The rise in sales and revenue is mostly due to the price of jet fuel skyrocketing by more than 30 percent, a cost that is actually passed on to customers.

According to Transportation Security Administration (TSA) data, average fares have climbed by as much as 100 percent compared to 2021.

But all whilst inflation is ever present in the travel and tourism industry, it is not having a major impact on bookings as travelers are looking to catch up on lost time do to COVID.

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