Americans ‘enthusiastic’ about traveling this holiday season

Americans are expected to embark on longer, more expensive and more frequent vacations this holiday season.

In Deloitte’s 2024 holiday travel survey, 33% of Americans are planning a trip lasting at least a week this holiday season. In 2023, 25% planned such a trip. A big reason why is more Americans are saying their finances have improved over the last year.

About 46% of those surveyed say they can better afford to travel, compared to 31% who said their finances had improved in 2023.

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Although those who will travel are planning longer and more expensive trips, the actual share of Americans going somewhere this holiday season is about the same as last year.

The Deloitte survey showed that 49% of Americans plan to travel, while 51% say they do not. Of those traveling, about 60% say they’re taking a leisure trip, while the other 40% are planning to visit friends or relatives.

The No. 1 reason people cite for not traveling is cost. About 39% say they cannot afford to travel, while another 31% say travel is too expensive right now. Some Americans are expected to travel multiple times this holiday season. The share of people planning to take at least three trips this year is up to 35%. Only 19% of Americans went on at least three trips during the 2023 holiday season.

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It probably comes as little surprise, but those with higher incomes are most likely to travel. About 66% of those living in households making above $100,000 annually will go some place this holiday season, which is up from 59% a year ago. Low-income Americans were twice as likely to say they cannot afford to travel than those making above $100,000 a year.

Millennials are expected to be this holiday season’s biggest travel spenders. They’re expected to spend an average of $3,927 on their longest trip this year.

With demand for travel expected to be higher, Deloitte said the industry needs to better prepare itself for an influx of business.

“As the season approaches, travel suppliers would be wise to remember that with big budgets come big expectations. Ensuring that staff and systems are well-prepared to keep up with demand—even as the season brings its tradition of intense peak travel days—will be as crucial as ever,” Deloitte said.