New data from American Express found spending on domestic travel bookings was already nearing a full recovery. According to CEO Steve Squeri, bookings in May were 95% of what they were in May of 2019, signaling that COVID-19 recovery and lifted restrictions are elevating traveler confidence.

“We also believe that by the end of the year in the U.S., we will have a full consumer recovery from a travel perspective, and overall, by the end of the year I think globally we’ll probably be about 80 percent of what we were in 2019,” Squeri says. Read more.