Skift Take

Travel is booming this summer despite flights and hotels becoming pricier for many consumers, and here's a look at a few reasons why trips aren't getting cheaper.

Rashaad Jorden

Travelers who made plans to hit the road this summer will likely notice the price of travel has gotten more expensive — in some cases, so expensive that many have decided to make changes to their planned trips. So why have hotel rates and airfaires increased from 2019 levels?

We turned to Ask Skift, our artificial intelligence chatbot, for answers to the question. Ask Skift used information appearing in our daily news stories, Skift Research and Airline Weekly. Here are the responses Ask Skift provided as well as more information we found about the reasons travel has gotten pricier.

Booming Travel Demand

Ask Skift said:

Travel has become more expensive due to a combination of factors. There is a strong demand for travel as people are eager to make up for time lost during the pandemic. As easyJet CEO Johan Lundgren stated in May 2023, "Travel is the only discretionary expense people are prepared to maintain or increase," indicating a high consumer desire for travel experiences over goods.

The desire for travel, which grew during