According to the latest Longwoods International tracking study of American travelers, holiday travel planning points to a season comparable to 2023, with 19% predicting more travel than last year, 64% planning about the same amount of travel as 2023 and 18% expecting to travel less than last year. In contrast, a year ago 23% of travelers expected more holiday travel, 58% were planning about the same amount of travel, and 19% predicted less holiday travel than the previous year. Thirty percent of travelers say inflation will greatly impact their travel decisions in the next 12 months, up from 24% in July.
As the backlog of travel to see family and friends after COVID has subsided, and the reality of increased costs and the usual lines and delays of traveling in the season hits home, travel enthusiasm is down this year over last.
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“Higher costs due to inflation and perceptions about the relative strength of the economy and job market appear to be making travelers more cautious about holiday travel planning when compared with 2023,” 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.”
Twenty-three percent 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 on price expectations. And 55% of travelers expect to spend about the same on holiday travel this year, up from 49% in 2023.
The survey, supported by Miles Partnership, used a national sample randomly drawn from a consumer panel of 1,000 adults, ages 18 and over. Quotas were used to match Census targets for age, gender, and region to make the survey representative of the U. S. population.
