A New Normal: NPR Listeners & Travel in 2021

NPR listeners love to travel. Before the pandemic, 76% of listeners agreed that when on vacation they prefer to travel to places they have never been, and they were 64% more likely to have taken 16-20 personal domestic trips within the past year.¹ While COVID-19 disrupted the travel industry and habits unlike anything before, consumers are adjusting and increasingly becoming accustomed to a new normal.

According to the 2021 HomeToGo travel study, 88% of consumer respondents plan to travel in 2021 regardless of any other consideration related to the pandemic. With widespread vaccine rollouts, the prospect of “getting away” grows more attractive for NPR’s audience. In fact, nearly half of NPR listeners expect to get back to vacation travel by this summer. 

As listeners are eager to return to travel, they are also more generally looking forward to resuming activities after they are vaccinated. NPR listeners are progressively more optimistic about future economic conditions overall, and their optimism is growing at a faster rate than the total population. Half expect that business conditions will improve a year from now – a 52% increase since December 2020.²

The vast majority of NPR listeners believe it’s important for brands to continue advertising during the pandemic. 77% of NPR listeners agree that they appreciate companies’ offering special messages of support related to COVID-19.³

With a brighter future on the horizon, NPR offers brands the opportunity to connect with optimistic listeners as they plan for long-awaited travel, socialization and recreation. To learn more about NPR sponsorship for your brand, connect with our team.

Want to learn more? Download the “NPR Listeners: Getting Back to Normal” survey now.

Sources: 1. MRI-Simmons Doublebase 2020, among custom NPR News audience; 2. MRI-Simmons COVID-19 Survey, April 2021. 3. NPR Audience Return to Normal Survey, April 2021 via NPR Listens.