Through a recent survey of StudentUniverse Instagram followers and analysis of search trends, we’ve found that student travelers continue to be optimistic about returning to travel in 2021.

Upcoming travel 

34% of students say they are already willing to travel anytime, while another 34% are waiting for a vaccine. 

45% of students still plan to travel in the next 4 months (through April 2021)

Students want to travel internationally but are currently mainly planning on staying within the US in the near future. 90% of students said they would like their next trip to be international, but only 35% are planning to actually travel internationally in the near future. 

While most universities have canceled spring break for the spring semester, 44% of students said their university is currently still planning to have a spring break this year.

Looking towards summer 2021

Search trend analysis shows that students are actively looking at travel options for this summer. 

Recent search trends show that the most searched departure month is for May 2021. And search volumes for summer 2021 departures are up 3.38% Week over Week, with the highest increase coming from departures in May (up 11.5%) and July (up 8.2%).

While the most searched destination region continues to be for domestic travel, the percentage of searches for international destinations increases based on departure month. For example, domestic flights make up 44% of searches departing in April, but only 35% of searches departing in May and June. Searches made with departures in these summer months show increases in the percent of searches to Asia and Europe. 

The destination cities most searched for by students looking at summer travel are: London, New York, Paris and Los Angeles. Destinations that have been increasing in popularity (taking a higher share of searches than in years previous) include: Tokyo, Honolulu, Miami, Orlando and Seoul.