According to an analysis of Labor Day weekend travel bookings within TripIt, and found travel continues to tick back toward normal despite rising concerns around the Delta variant. Compared to 2019 bookings, 2021 bookings are nearing or surpassing the halfway mark for domestic flights (53%), car rentals (75%), lodging reservations (62%), and vacation rentals (46%).

Additional findings include:

• Summer travel volumes continue for Labor Day. 2021 percentages of 2019 bookings have risen between Memorial Day weekend and Labor Day weekend for domestic flights (33% vs 53%), car rentals (45% vs 75%), and lodging reservations (46% vs 62%).
  
• International travel continues its comeback. 2021 international bookings for Labor Day weekend are at 37% of 2019 bookings, up from 20% of 2019 bookings for Memorial Day weekend and 29% for the Fourth of July holiday. Cancun (#12), Paris (#17) and London (#19) landed in the top 25 destinations for international flights.
  
• 2021 Labor Day weekend travel peaks. Trying to beat the rush? The busiest days for airport travel will be Friday, September 3 followed by Thursday, September 2. The top five departure airports are #1 San Francisco International Airport (SFO), #2 Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), #3 Denver International Airport (DEN), #4 Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA) and #5 Chicago O’Hare International Airport (ORD). 
  
• Longer stays and last-minute bookings. The pandemic has changed how long people travel and when they book. Lodging reservations for both 8-13 and 14+ day trips saw a 10x increase from 2019. As for flights, bookings made in July this year (51%) tripled compared to July 2020 (18%).

For more details, check out their blog here.