Survey: American holiday travel demand in line with 2023

Posted by Admin October 22, 2024 Travel

The latest Longwoods International tracking study of American travelers has been released, with holiday travel planning pointing to a season comparable to 2023.

It finds 19% of travelers are predicting more travel than last year, while 64% are planning about the same amount of travel as 2023.

In contrast, a year ago 23% of travelers expected more holiday travel.

Nearly one-third (30%) say inflation will greatly impact their travel decisions over the next 12 months, which is up from 24% in July.

“Higher costs due to inflation and perceptions about the relative strength of the economy and job market appear to be making travelers more cautious,” said Amir Eylon, President and CEO of Longwoods International.

“If these trends continue as we get closer to the holidays, we can expect holiday travel and spending to be relatively flat for 2024.”

Longwoods says 23% of travelers expect to spend more on travel this holiday season, down from 28% in 2023, likely reflecting recent lows in inflation having an impact.

More than half expect to spend about the same this year.

Visiting friends and relatives is still listed by American travelers as their top activity this holiday season.

For the third month in a row, demand for travel into the fall and early winter seasons remains near record post-pandemic levels.

It finds 91% of American travelers expect to travel somewhere in the next six months.

The survey, supported by Miles Partnership, was fielded earlier this month using a national sample randomly drawn from a consumer panel of 1,000 adults.