With coronavirus rates plummeting and businesses opening back up, many are ready to travel.
The most eager appear to be San Francisco residents, according to a new U.S. Census Bureau survey.
The survey, conducted from May 12-24, found that of the 1 million people in the San Francisco metro area – about one-third – are planning to travel at least 100 miles from home in the next four weeks.
According to analysis by the San Francisco Chronicle, the city came in third out of the country’s 15 largest metro areas at 31% of residents with travel plans. Phoenix came in first with 35% followed by Seattle at 32%. In stark contrast, the Los Angeles metro area has one of the lowest percentages of metro areas surveyed at 21%, and the lowest being the Riverside-San Bernardino area at 18%.
"It’s refreshing just to leave here," said San Francisco native Shaun Laron, who just recently took a trip to Discovery Bay, in nearby Contra Costa County. "And then when you come back you feel like, ‘Oh I had a great, relaxing, less stressful time away from San Francisco.’"
On average, 26% of Californians are planning to travel in the next month. Nationally, it’s about 28%.
"It’s just relaxing to see how everything is starting to open up, everybody’s trying to rejuvenate," said Laron. "It’s like a weight lifted off your shoulders."
And as more people get vaccinated, that’s likely to increase, particularly as the state prepares to fully reopen the economy on June 15.
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