As our atypical year extends into its third season, autumn, we wondered how travel would reflect this new normal: Would large cities — usually a big draw during Q3 — regain any traction or would the recent trends we saw over Labor Day weekend hold?
TripIt analyzed the 50 most popular destinations for US-origin fall travel (Sep 15 – Nov 15, 2020; so, after Labor Day and prior to Thanksgiving).
Much like with Labor Day travel, the data show large increases in the share of flight reservations for more remote or beachy locales, especially in Hawaii, and in resort destinations in Mexico and the Caribbean.
Fall 2020 flight trends
Beach destinations continue to be popular for travelers, with Cancun, MX; Kahului, Maui, HI; San Jose Cabo, MX; Fort Myers, FL; Lihue, Kauai, HI; Puerto Vallarta, MX; Kailua-Kona, Big Island, HI; and Montego Bay, JM all seeing their share of fall flight reservations double (or more) over the same travel period last year.
Desert locations like Palm Springs, CA (+66 percent); Phoenix, AZ (+36 percent); and Albuquerque, NM (+27 percent) have increased their respective share of fall bookings when compared to last year, whereas big cities like Chicago, NYC, SF, Boston and Newark have seen marked drops in their share of fall bookings.
| Rank | City | State/ Country | YoY Share Change | Rank 2019 | Rank Change Diff |
| 1 | Las Vegas | NV | 3% | 1 | 0 |
| 2 | Orlando | FL | 17% | 2 | 0 |
| 3 | Denver | CO | 22% | 4 | 1 |
| 4 | Phoenix | AZ | 36% | 10 | 6 |
| 5 | Cancun | MX | 159% | 29 | 24 |
| 6 | Chicago | IL | -32% | 3 | -3 |
| 7 | Kahului | HI | 127% | 23 | 16 |
| 8 | Los Angeles | CA | 2% | 8 | 0 |
| 9 | Honolulu | HI | 93% | 28 | 19 |
| 10 | San Diego | CA | -11% | 12 | 2 |
| 11 | Nashville | TN | 6% | 17 | 6 |
| 12 | Dallas | TX | -20% | 11 | -1 |
| 13 | Paris | FR | 15% | 19 | 6 |
| 14 | Boston | MA | -27% | 9 | -5 |
| 15 | London | GB | -37% | 7 | -8 |
| 16 | New Orleans | NO | -2% | 18 | 2 |
| 17 | New York | NY | -42% | 5 | -12 |
| 18 | San Jose Cabo | MX | 119% | 39 | 21 |
| 19 | San Francisco | CA | -42% | 6 | -13 |
| 20 | Austin | TX | -11% | 16 | -4 |
| 21 | Atlanta | GA | -18% | 15 | -6 |
| 22 | Portland | OR | 8% | 21 | -1 |
| 23 | Fort Lauderdale | FL | 27% | 25 | 2 |
| 24 | Seattle | WA | -27% | 14 | -10 |
| 25 | Tampa | FL | 46% | 35 | 10 |
| 26 | Miami | FL | 37% | 36 | 10 |
| 27 | Rome | IT | 17% | 30 | 3 |
| 28 | Houston | TX | 12% | 31 | 3 |
| 29 | Fort Myers | FL | 101% | 55 | 26 |
| 30 | Lihue | HI | 165% | 70 | 40 |
| 31 | Washington | DC | -50% | 13 | -18 |
| 32 | Tokyo | JP | -12% | 26 | -6 |
| 33 | Baltimore | MD | -6% | 32 | -1 |
| 34 | Salt Lake City | UT | 5% | 37 | 3 |
| 35 | Newark | NJ | -40% | 20 | -15 |
| 36 | Puerto Vallarta | MX | 115% | 67 | 31 |
| 37 | Oakland | CA | 33% | 46 | 9 |
| 38 | San Jose | CA | -29% | 22 | -16 |
| 39 | Kailua-Kona | HI | 109% | 69 | 30 |
| 40 | Santa Ana | CA | -12% | 34 | -6 |
| 41 | Minneapolis | MN | -31% | 24 | -17 |
| 42 | Albuquerque | NM | 27% | 50 | 8 |
| 43 | Charleston | SC | 26% | 51 | 8 |
| 44 | Montego Bay | JM | 153% | 87 | 43 |
| 45 | Barcelona | ES | -29% | 33 | -12 |
| 46 | Philadelphia | PA | -36% | 27 | -19 |
| 47 | Sacramento | CA | 13% | 53 | 6 |
| 48 | Raleigh/Durham | NC | -15% | 41 | -7 |
| 49 | Palm Springs | CA | 66% | 73 | 24 |
| 50 | Dublin | IE | 0% | 49 | -1 |
Fall car rental trends
The number of days for the average car rental has also increased by two days from three days for the fall of 2019, to five days this year.
| Rank | City | State | Rank Change |
| 1 | Orlando | FL | 0 |
| 2 | Kahului | HI | 10 |
| 3 | Denver | CO | -1 |
| 4 | Las Vegas | NV | 4 |
| 5 | Phoenix | AZ | -2 |
| 6 | Lihue | HI | 33 |
| 7 | Kailua-Kona | HI | 64 |
| 8 | San Francisco | CA | -4 |
| 9 | Portland | OR | 5 |
| 10 | Honolulu | HI | 16 |
| 11 | Boston | MA | -2 |
| 12 | Los Angeles | CA | -5 |
| 13 | Fort Myers | FL | 27 |
| 14 | San Diego | CA | -1 |
| 15 | Chicago | IL | -10 |
| 16 | Seattle | WA | 44 |
| 17 | Miami | FL | 27 |
| 18 | Tampa | FL | 6 |
| 19 | Salt Lake City | UT | 3 |
| 20 | Fort Lauderdale | FL | 13 |
Methodology: TripIt analyzed US-origin RT flights and car rentals made from Jan 1 – Aug 15, 2020, with a travel date from Sep 15 – Nov 15, 2020, and compared that to an equivalent booking window for equivalent travel dates in 2019.
