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It seems people may still not be over all those canceled summer vacations of 2020.
According to a recent Deloitte survey of more than 3,500 Americans—including about 2,200 who “qualified as travelers”—even more are planning on traveling this summer than last. Sure, there are hurdles like inflation, but ultimately, the cost of travel isn’t keeping Americans at home.
Hot travel summer: Deloitte found that 63% of Americans have travel plans of some sort this summer, with 50% “taking a leisure trip with paid lodging” and 13% staying with family or friends. Another 37% said they’re not traveling at all.
- The share of Americans staying in paid lodging for summer trips has steadily increased since 2021.
- Intent to fly domestically and internationally, as well as take a cruise over the summer, is up compared to last year.
Budget crisis: Budgets for travelers’ longest trips of the summer have been on the decline. In 2021, travelers paying to stay somewhere estimated they’d spend $3,440 on their “marquee summer trip.” In 2022, that figure dropped to $3,320. This year, it’s $2,930. The decline, according to the report, could be due to a few factors:
- Those who were traveling a couple years back were “more likely to be avid, high-spending travelers.” With more people traveling, perhaps more are “typical spenders,” per Deloitte.
- Americans are planning on taking more trips this summer, which could be why they’re spending less on their marquee trip.
- Last, but not least: Inflation—which may mean some would-be travelers have less cash on hand.
- But for summer travel overall, 62% of respondents said they plan to spend about as much this year as they did last. One-quarter said they’re spending significantly more, and 13% said they’re spending significantly less.
Workaholics: Deloitte calls them “laptop luggers,” aka the 19% of summer travelers who said they plan to work at least a little during their marquee trip. Half of that group is 18- to 34-year-olds. Take a break, Gen Z and millennials.