The vacation season is upon us. But whereas that is usually heralded as “the most wonderful time of the year,” that is probably not the case for pet homeowners – accounting for two-thirds of Americans – and their pets, who’re left to navigate the frenzy of vacation journey or select to remain home.
In our final report on vacation journey for pet homeowners, CivicScience discovered cost to be a key prohibitive issue for a lot of pet homeowners contemplating journey, with airways dropping out on pet homeowners who lacked choices. So, what are vacation vacationers planning on doing with their pets this yr, and have preferences modified over time? Here’s what essentially the most recent information from the CivicScience InsightStore present:
Pet Owners Less Likely to Travel This Year
Traveling with pets isn’t at all times a walk within the park, and this yr’s information underscore this. For one, this yr’s vacation vacationers are barely much less doubtless than non-travelers to be pet homeowners.
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Secondly, extra pet mother and father are more likely to forgo journey this yr in comparison with final yr. Currently, 25% of pet homeowners say that proudly owning a pet might forestall them from touring this vacation season (with 10% who say it ‘definitely’ will). This is up from a complete of 23% who stated the identical two years in the past.
The information additionally present that 42% of pet homeowners say that having a pet prevents them from basic journey by way of planes a minimum of among the time, up from 39% who stated the identical in 2021. In an analogous vein, 34% say that being a pet proprietor prevents them from staying at a lodge, up two share factors from 2021.
In quick, there are several obstacles that pet homeowners face when selecting to journey with their pets, and these issues have solely grown with time.
Despite the varied challenges of touring with a pet, extra pet homeowners who do plan to journey for the vacations are opting to take their furry mates with them this yr, up three factors to 32% since our final report in 2021. Who are these daring pet homeowners selecting to leap the numerous hurdles of journey?
Pandemic Pet Parents Will Travel More, however Leave Their Pets at Home
Overall, newer pet homeowners are way more more likely to journey. Currently, 49% of those that turned pet homeowners through the COVID-19 pandemic say they’ll journey this vacation season, in comparison with simply 23% of those that had been pet homeowners earlier than the pandemic.
Among vacation vacationers, these extra recent pet mother and father make up a a lot bigger share of those that will probably be pursuing pet care choices corresponding to boarding their pets, one thing that pet mother and father who’ve had their pets since earlier than 2020 very hardly ever do. By distinction, these with pets earlier than the pandemic are greater than twice as more likely to take their pets with them.
Of course, there are nuances primarily based on pet possession. For instance, cat homeowners are more likely than canine homeowners to say that proudly owning a pet will influence their journey plans this vacation season.
It’s Not (Just) About the Money
Perhaps not surprisingly, money continues to be a priority, with lower-income pet homeowners expressing extra hesitation round touring with their furry mates. For instance, 19% of pet homeowners who earn lower than $50K per yr will ‘definitely’ not be touring because of having pets, versus simply 13% of pet homeowners who earn greater than $100K yearly.
But with many selecting to go away their pets with household and mates this vacation season – 31% are choosing this now, up two share factors from 2021 – the place there’s a will to search out extra inexpensive pet care choices, there’s undoubtedly a method.
It’s secure to say that though money does proceed to create friction for a lot of Americans contemplating whether or not or to not journey with their pets this yr, Americans at the moment are, greater than ever, in search of cost-effective methods to make the vacation season merry and vivid for everybody within the household.
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Interested in seeing extra insights like these? CivicScience has a relentless pulse on the latest vacation traits by way of our database of over 4 million U.S. survey responses each day. To study how one can access our real-time shopper insights, get in contact.
