Pop Culture dictionary
revenge travel
[ ri-venj trav-uhl ]
ŗŚĮĻĶų is revenge travel?
Revenge travel is a slang term for leisure travel that follows a period of being unable to travel. Specifically, the term originated as a way to refer to vacationing following the lessening of COVID-19 restrictions (which had greatly reduced travel).
As such restrictions lessened in 2021 and 2022, leisure travel and particularly air travel increased significantly.
This trend has been explained, particularly by travel marketers and in media reports, as being the result of revenge travelāpeople taking ārevengeā on COVID-19 by taking the trips that the pandemic prevented them from taking earlier.
Example: Many travelers seem to be unbothered by high ticket prices in their pursuit of revenge travel.
Where does revenge travel come from?
In revenge travel, the word revenge is used somewhat jokingly in reference to the idea of people ātaking revengeā on COVID-19 by taking the vacations that the pandemic had prevented them from takingāor the luxurious and indulgent trips they had dreamed up during periods of isolation and relative confinement.
The term is thought to have been promoted by members of the travel industry and popularized by media reports covering the steep increase in trips that followed the availability of vaccines and the lessening of restrictions. Another factor often cited in the discussion of the trend is peopleās eagerness to spend the money they saved from having to skip vacations during the pandemic.
Examples of revenge travel
Who uses revenge travel?
Revenge travel originated to refer to travel following the lessening of COVID-19 restrictions. It is often used by travel marketers and in media reports about the trend.
Revenge travel is a true thing. Saw the hotel prices over the next 2 weeks and decided to close the app and stay at home š
— Sujit Kumar Hota š®š³ (@Skh27)
Hotels report being understaffed amid 'revenge travel' phase of pandemic by
— Yahoo Finance (@YahooFinance)
I really hate the term ārevenge travel.ā Revenge against whom?
Weāre seeing pent-up demand, not revenge.
— Jason Cochran (@JasCochran)
Note
This is not meant to be a formal definition of revenge travel like most terms we define on Dictionary.com, but is rather an informal word summary that hopefully touches upon the key aspects of the meaning and usage of revenge travel that will help our users expand their word mastery.