New Hilton Survey Reveals More Than 50 Percent of Americans Plan to Check Off a Wish List Destination Post-Pandemic

According to a new survey conducted by Hilton, 59 percent of respondents plan to jump back into travel post-pandemic with a bucket list vacation they would not have considered prior to the pandemic. The top locations include international and domestic landmarks like the Grand Canyon, Eiffel Tower, Niagara Falls, Statue of Liberty, the Colosseum and the Las Vegas Strip. The survey also showed 64 percent of Americans agreed they are in desperate need of a vacation.

The majority of survey respondents feel domestic travel is their best shot at a bucket list trip, with the top U.S. cities Americans plan to visit including Honolulu (29 percent), New York City (25 percent) and Las Vegas (24 percent). Additional cities included Los Angeles, with 21 percent; Miami, chosen by 20 percent of respondents; New Orleans, also with 20 percent; San Francisco, at 19 percent; and San Diego, selected by 18 percent of respondents.

There is still a large desire to travel overseas, and Italy ranked No. 1 at 26 percent, followed by the United Kingdom, 24 percent; France, at 20 percent; and Greece, at 18 percent. Specific cities include Rome, with nearly 27 percent of the respondents choosing the Italian city, followed by Paris (26 percent), London (25 percent), Venice (23 percent), Sydney (22 percent), Dublin (20 percent), Tokyo (18 percent), Barcelona (17 percent), Amsterdam (17 percent) and Madrid (16 percent).

The survey also found two in five respondents plan to visit family they haven’t seen during the pandemic, with 38 percent saying spending quality time with friends and family is one of the top things they miss about traveling. Most, at 59 percent, plan to stay longer in the destination, with 46 percent wanting to travel further than they previously would have.