Delta Variant Fear-Mongering Begins To Dent Travel Industry

The Biden administration and mainstream media are doing the best they can to scare the hell out of everyone about the Delta variant of COVID-19. This baseless fear-mongering is beginning to wear on Americans’ psyche as they began to cancel their travel plans to hunker down at home. In a series of charts, we will show readers how the travel industry is already being impacted. 

As the economy reopened earlier this year as tens of millions of Americans were vaccinated and virus infections and deaths decreased, people had the urge to travel. One affordable way to travel has been hitching a ride on a cruise ship. By spring, cruise ships underway doubled from 60 to over 120 by late summer. Now, a sharp reversal has been seen this week as cruise ships underway are down to 112.

It appears the reversal in cruise ships underway is not seasonal, but rather government and media fear-mongering has deterred people from traveling on these giant vessels crammed with thousands of people, or ship operators are canceling sails until the virus abates. 

We next overlay cruise ships underway with TSA checkpoint numbers of total travel throughput and spot a similar trend. Both have begun to slip from their highs between July 31 and August 15. Again, fear-mongering is deterring people from traveling. 

Looking at flights via global flight tracking service Flight 24, the number of commercial flights on a 7-day moving average also appears to be hitting resistance. 

Jan Hatzius, Goldman Sachs Chief Economist, confirmed in a note to clients this week that activity at airports, hotels, and restaurants has declined since the beginning of August. 

“Activity at restaurants has declined by 5% since the start of August, while TSA traveler throughput and hotel activity have been roughly flat over the last few weeks,” Hatzius said. 

TSA traveler throughput has stalled at about 80% of the 2019 levels. 

Hotel spending remains at 89.7% of pre-virus levels and has stalled since early summer. 

A bonus chart, while this has nothing to do with travel, US weekly box office overall gross has reversed, signaling to us that moviegoers are afraid of entering a theater due to the threat of catching the virus. 

While the Biden administration and mainstream media force-feed Americans fear – turning many into hermits as they shelter at home – Dr. Marty Makary has spoken out about the establishment’s doom narrative. 

Makary, a professor at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Bloomberg School of Public Health and Carey Business School, recently said: 

“Anthony Fauci has been saying that the country needs to vaccinate 70% to 85% of the population to reach herd immunity from Covid-19. But he inexplicably ignores natural immunity. If you account for previous infections, herd immunity is likely close at hand.”

He added Fauci “needs to put up or shut up” on his fear-mongering.

… and the market is also reflecting Delta fear-mongering. 

While new cases of the virus are erupting, the death count remains low. But again, this gives the government the perfect opportunity to spew imminent doom.