Survey: Nearly Half of Americans Won't Be Able to Afford a Summer Vacation

By Ben Kesslen, Quartz (TNS)

Around half of Americans can’t afford to take a summer vacation this year thanks to the rising costs of living, according to a new survey.

Fourty-four percent of the 2,500 eligible U.S. voters surveyed by Redfield & Wilton Strategy and Newsweek said they have no travel plans in the next three months. And 53% said they wanted to go on a vacation but couldn’t swing it due to rising prices.

Most respondents who plan to travel also said their trips were impacted by inflation. Fifty-five percent said they are going somewhere more affordable than they originally planned, 30% said they downgraded their lodging to save money, and 45% said they found a cheaper way to get to their destination.

The survey, conducted at the end of June, found that 17% of Americans plan to travel abroad in the next three months, 29% will travel domestically and 10% will take trips both within the US and abroad.

Gen X, millennials and Gen Zers all reported not taking trips because of the high costs at somewhat similar rates.

While inflation is significantly lower than it was when it peaked in June 2022, many Americans are still feeling the effects of higher costs.

“Life has gotten a lot more expensive in recent years, which is why so many people are struggling to afford vacations,” Bankrate’s senior industry analyst Ted Rossman told Newsweek.

“With so many people spending so much more for housing, food, gas and other essentials, there’s less money to go around for other things such as travel.

Rossman said that “even though travel costs have fallen over the past year … this hasn’t been enough to offset the higher cost of living in other areas.”

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