- Travel spending varies by income.
- 57.3 percent took overnight leisure trips.
- AI use for trip planning reaches 32.2 percent.
The share of American travelers who feel financially better off than last year fell to 31.7 percent for a third straight month, its lowest level since May. Meanwhile, recession expectations reached 48.5 percent, also the highest since May, according to a Future Partners blog post.
More travelers are watching their spending because of recession concerns, rising to 53.5 percent from 46.2 percent a year ago. Still, 57.3 percent took an overnight leisure trip in the past month, up from 49.6 percent a year ago.
Income drives the travel divide
The overall figures hide a growing gap between higher and lower income travelers. People earning $200,000 or more are nearly three times as likely as those earning under $49,000 to say it is a good time to spend on leisure travel. The figures are 50.2 percent and 18.5 percent, respectively.
Higher-income travelers also set aside an average of $13,600 a year for travel, compared with $2,008 among the lowest-income group. In addition, 76.3 percent of higher-income travelers call travel a high priority for the next three months, compared with 40.3 percent of lower-income travelers.
Gas prices show the same gap. Nearly one-third of all travelers say high gas prices kept them from traveling more in the past six months. This is more than double the 15.3 percent reported a year ago.
Lower-income travelers are not giving up travel altogether. Instead, the figures suggest they are choosing trips that may be easier to afford, such as day trips, visits to friends, relatives and trips closer to home.
Lower-income travelers are more likely than top earners to have taken an overnight trip to visit friends or family, at 53.5 percent versus 45.3 percent. However, they are less likely to have taken an overnight leisure trip, at 49 percent versus 66.9 percent.
Holiday trips go beyond family visits
About half of the American travelers surveyed have a trip of 50 miles or more planned for an upcoming holiday. Christmas leads at 34.5 percent, followed by Thanksgiving at 26 percent and New Year’s Day at 12.3 percent.
Gen Z travelers lead holiday travel plans at 67.3 percent, followed by parents of school-aged children at 63.8 percent. By comparison, 38.7 percent of Boomers have a holiday trip planned.
About half of travelers with a holiday trip planned are not visiting friends or relatives. Among this group, 68.4 percent have already chosen a destination, while 31.6 percent are still deciding.
Beaches are the most popular choice at 24.1 percent, closely followed by urban destinations at 23.9 percent. Small towns and rural areas account for 19.3 percent. For hotels in beach and urban markets, this points to a holiday travel opportunity beyond trips to see family and friends.
How travelers plan and use AI
Online search engines and recommendations from friends and family are the most widely used trip-planning resources. Search engines account for 48.4 percent of travelers, while word of mouth accounts for 47.1 percent.
Among people who use these resources, more than 93 percent use each within the first three steps of planning. Social media and YouTube are also used early in the process. Online travel agencies, AI chatbots and travel blogs tend to come later, when travelers are comparing options and making decisions.
AI use for trip planning reached 32.2 percent this month, up from 24 percent a year ago and matching the highest level recorded in the study. Use is highest among parents of school-aged children at 49.6 percent, followed by Millennials at 44.8 percent and Gen Z at 41.8 percent. Among Boomers, the figure is 17.5 percent.
However, only 15.4 percent of travelers used an AI chatbot for their most recent trip. Among those who used AI chatbots, 71.9 percent used them within the first three
planning steps. This was a lower share than for any other major planning resource in the survey. The figures suggest that travelers often turn to AI after a destination is already under consideration, rather than using it to discover a destination in the first place.
A separate Hilton report found that travelers increasingly want trips that fit their schedules, offer easy access to local activities and help them recharge.
