Business Travel Falls, Leisure Rises at DC Airports

Business travel at Washington-area airports has significantly declined in the wake of the pandemic, while leisure traffic has surged, according to a recent survey by the National Capital Region Transportation Planning Board (TPB). The survey, the first conducted since the pandemic, offers insights into changing travel habits among passengers using Washington Dulles (IAD), Reagan Washington National (DCA), and Baltimore/Washington Marshall (BWI) airports.

Conducted over two weeks in October 2023, the survey collected responses from 9,599 passengers across 486 flights, evenly distributed among the three airports. The findings reveal a marked shift in the purpose of air travel, with more passengers opting for vacations rather than business trips.

“As might be expected, the region has experienced a decline in business travel due to the pandemic and post-pandemic factors,” the TPB reported. The data shows that in 2017, 38% of surveyed trips were for business, but that number has dropped to 30% in 2023. Conversely, non-business trips have increased from 62% in 2017 to 70% in 2023. Among these non-business trips, vacation travel saw a substantial rise, jumping from 24% to 36%, indicating that vacations now surpass business trips.

The TPB highlighted a “surge in post-pandemic vacation travel.” In 2017, business trips outnumbered vacations 38% to 24%, but by 2023, the ratio flipped, with vacations leading 36% to 30%.

In addition to changing trip purposes, the survey also noted an increase in the use of rideshare services like Uber and Lyft for airport transit. In 2023, personal cars and rental vehicles accounted for 45% and 10% of trips to the airports, respectively, remaining consistent with 2017 figures. However, rideshare services made up over a quarter of airport trips, climbing from 14% in 2017 to 26% in 2023. Traditional taxi rides to the airports saw a significant decline, dropping from 11% in 2017 to just 5% in 2023.

At DCA, the trend was even more pronounced, with 37% of surveyed passengers using rideshare services in 2023, up from 21% in 2017. The TPB stated, “Private cars are the primary choice of travel mode for home locations, while rideshare services dominate trips from non-home locations.”

When selecting an airport, proximity emerged as the most important factor for 45% of respondents, who preferred the closest airport among the three. Airfare price was a key consideration for 12% of passengers, and another 12% chose an airport based on the availability of nonstop routes.

The TPB also noted that the three airports had nearly identical shares of the region’s passenger enplanements in 2023, with BWI capturing 34%, DCA at 33%, and IAD at 32%.

Overall, the findings from the TPB survey reflect a significant transformation in travel patterns, emphasizing the increasing prominence of leisure travel in the post-pandemic landscape and the evolving preferences of air travelers in the Washington area.