Most U.S. Travelers Can’t Afford Their Dream Vacation: Skift Research
Skift Take
Key Points
- 43% of U.S. travelers find their dream vacations financially challenging.
- 19% of travelers consider their dream trips unaffordable and are reconsidering plans.
- Inflation and higher travel prices have impacted travel plans for roughly two-thirds of respondents.
Summary
A Skift Research survey of 1,001 American travelers revealed that 43% find their dream vacations as financially challenging to achieve as in 2019, while 19% consider them unaffordable and are reconsidering their plans. Higher travel prices and inflation are significant factors, with roughly two-thirds of respondents indicating that inflation impacted their 2023 travel plans. These findings were consistent throughout quarterly surveys conducted by Skift Research in 2023.
In a survey by Skift Research, 43% of U.S. travelers said their dream vacation was as financially challenging to achieve as in 2019.
Another 19% said their dream trip was not affordable and that they were reconsidering their plans.
Skift Research surveyed 1,001 Americans who had taken at least one long-distance, overnight trip in late 2023.
Inflation as a Factor
Higher travel prices may partly account for why some Americans consider their ideal getaways to be out of reach.
Once a quarter last year, Skift Research surveyed about 1,000 travelers at a time to ask them: "Are your vacation plans for 2023 impacted by higher travel prices?"
The answers each quarter of 2023 were broadly consistent. Roughly two-thirds of travelers felt inflation was impacting their trip plans.
Skift Research's quarterly U.S. Travel Tracker surveys are fielded online by a trusted third-party consumer panel provider.
Photo Caption: Cinderella Castle, the icon of Magic Kingdom Park at Walt Disney World Resort in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. Photo by Matt Stroshane. Source: Walt Disney Company.
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