KAYAK’S 2021 Year in Review
Though the past 365 days brought a lot of things – from Squid Game, to the (re)emergence of straight-leg jeans, red flag memes and more – one of the things we loved most about 2021 was that it brought back travel. As case numbers fluctuated and vaccination rates climbed, many of us packed our suitcases for the first time since February 2020. In celebration of this year ending and another beginning, here is a look at our top data stories from the past 12 months.
The top travel stories for 2021
- We took some shots.
At the beginning of March, President Biden announced there would be enough COVID-19 vaccines for every person in the US to get jabbed. After this announcement, searches for summer travel increased steadily, up 27% week over week.1
- We returned to the EU.
When the news broke that the EU would welcome back vaccinated American tourists this summer, searches on KAYAK rose 26% on Sunday, April 25 compared to the prior Sunday, April 18. This showed us that US travelers were eager for borders to reopen and to venture back overseas.2
- Rides were needed in a big way.
Prices and demand for rental cars grew more than 70% in the first two weeks of June for Independence Day weekend, compared to the same dates in 2019. This spike in popularity left many US cities with car rental shortages and many Americans had to get creative about how to get from point A to point B.3
- Canada also reopened its borders.
Following an update by the Prime Minister to Canada’s provincial and territorial premiers, KAYAK data revealed nation-wide excitement jumped on July 19 about the possibility of a Canadian-US border reopening in August. KAYAK saw a 322% increase in flight searches from Canada to the US on July 19 compared to the same day the week prior.4
- COVID reinvented itself with the Delta variant.
The rise of COVID-19 variants made things even more unpredictable. On September 13, flight searches for travel anytime in the future declined by 33%.5
- Top-streamed shows inspired a new trend.
After Squid Game was released on September 17, our data saw a spike in interest on flights to South Korea. Searches for flights from the US to SK went up 29% in the month following the show’s release, when compared to the month prior.6
- International travelers were welcomed back to the US.
After the White House announced that fully-vaccinated international visitors could travel to the US starting on November 8, search data from KAYAK showed international searches to the US spiked 48% on Saturday, October 16 compared to the same day one week prior, on October 9.7
- COVID rebranded with the Omicron variant.
The Omicron variant prompted over 40 countries (including the US) to revisit travel restrictions as cases began to rise once more. KAYAK data showed that searches for domestic travel were not impacted as much as international queries. While we’re still learning about Omicron, international travel searches from the US were down only 5% compared to a 26% decline in searches from the UK during the same time period.8
- We actually wanted to go home for the holidays.
While travel interest for the winter holidays (Thanksgiving through New Years) was down compared to 2019, KAYAK saw significant momentum around international and domestic flight searches when compared to 2020 (up 155% and 212%, respectively). Flights weren’t the only searches getting action – KAYAK rental car searches and prices for the holiday season (November 12 – January 7) increased across the board compared to both 2019 and 2020. In fact, rental car searches were already up 230% compared to 2019 and prices followed a similar pattern with the average cost per day seeing a 75% increase compared to 2019.9
Other humble-brag moments
As it turns out, other people love travel numbers too. Here are some other travel headlines from the past year that we were honored to take part in.
- See What Travel Habit Your State Is Known for With New Data From KAYAK written by Travel + Leisure
- Search Engine KAYAK Courts Small Hotel Owners With Digital App Service written by the Wall Street Journal
- KAYAK rolls out full launch, new features for corporate travel solution | PhocusWire written by Travel Weekly
- Maximum Flexibility, Mobility And Employee Empowerment Are The Future Of Work At KAYAK And OpenTable, Says CEO Steve Hafner written by Forbes
- Learn a New Language With These Travel Partnerships written by Conde Nast Traveler
- Can’t find a rental car this summer? Here’s what you can do instead written by TODAY
- KAYAK CEO Talks New Hotel Venture, Wider Travel Trends written by Cheddar
- Rental Car Shortage Could Come Back This Holiday Travel Season written by Insider
- Interview: KAYAK CEO Steve Hafner on the future of travel written by The Hustle
- Top 10 ‘Vaxication’ Destinations, According to KAYAK written by Brit + Co
So here’s to 2022 and here’s to you – thanks for traveling with us!
Methodology
1. KAYAK considered searches between February 1, 2021 – March 17, 2021 for travel between May 27, 2021 – September 7, 2021.
2. KAYAK considered searches on Sunday, April 25, 2021 for travel from the US to Europe anytime in the future.
3. KAYAK considered searches from June 6, 2021 to June 15, 2021 for travel dates July 1, 2021 to July 5, 2021.
4. To determine the spike in searches following the July 19 announcement, KAYAK considered searches from the US to Canada from June 1 through July 19 for travel from August 15 through December 31, 2021. To determine the spike in searches from Canada to the US, KAYAK considered searches from June 22 through July 21 for travel anytime.
5. KAYAK considered searches made on September 13, 2021 for travel anytime. To compare year over two year, KAYAK considered searches between September 7, 2019 – September 14, 201 9 for travel between September 14, 2019 – November 12, 2019.
6. KAYAK looked at searches from the US to South Korea between September 17, 2021 to October 17, 2021 and compared it to searches the month prior (August 17, 2021 – September 17, 2021).
7. KAYAK considered searches conducted on October 10, 2021 and October 17, 2021 for travel to the US anytime on or after November 8, 2021. To determine the spike in searches, KAYAK compared international travel searches into the US from one week prior (October 9, 2021 and October 10, 2021) for the same travel period.
8. KAYAK considered searches made on November 28, 2021 for domestic and international travel originating in the US and in the UK for travel anytime.
9. KAYAK considered both flight and car searches from the US locale between July 1, 2021 and August 31, 2021 for travel over the winter holidays (November 12, 2021 through January 7, 2022). To compare year over year and year over two year findings, KAYAK considered flight searches for the same time period one and two years prior.
