High airfare and other travel costs have dominated the headlines leading up to the summer travel season, but a new report by the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that airfare and car rental prices actually decreased this past month. The findings in the Consumer Price Index should be welcome news for those looking to book upcoming travel.
Airfare has decreased 18.9 percent since last June, and eight percent since last month. Car rental prices have dropped 12.4 percent since last year, good news for holiday road-trippers.
The decrease in prices can be partially explained by travel settling back into seasonal patterns. Post-pandemic, demand for travel was high as travelers booked flights and car rentals throughout the year. Now that people are starting to focus more on seasonal and holiday travel, off-season prices have started to drop. Prices for both flights and car rentals have returned to more normal levels, with more deals to be found during off-peak times. The one area of travel that did not see a decrease is lodging. Hotel prices are still high, up five percent from last year.
The demand for travel is expected to continue growing, both domestically and internationally, but savvy travelers can look forward to off-peak deals on flights and cars.