Americans Expect to Spend a Record-breaking $214 Billion on Summer Vacations This Year

Americans are showing no signs of slowing down when it comes to splurging on their summer vacations. For the first time in Allianz Partners USA's annual Vacation Confidence Index,* the travel insurance and assistance provider found that Americans' total spend on summer vacations is likely to cross the $200 billion mark, projected to amount to about $214,000,000,000. The figure represents approximately a 10% increase over 2022, a 39% increase over 2021, a staggering 261% over 2020, and remarkable 111% increase compared to pre-pandemic spending in 2019.

According to the 15th Annual Vacation Confidence Index (VCI), Americans have doubled their summer vacation spending in just four years. In 2023, the average American household is anticipated to spend an average of $2,830 on their summer vacation, topping $2,000 for the fourth time since Allianz Partners began tracking vacation habits in 2009. Three years after the pandemic, average expected vacation spending per household has increased by almost $1,000, marking about a 7% increase over 2022, a 33% increase from 2021, a 50% increase from 2020 and a 39% increase from pre-pandemic 2019 levels.

"We expect to see a record-breaking number of American travelers this summer, and whether heading near or far, increased traveler numbers can mean an increased chance of travel delays," said Daniel Durazo, director of external communications at Allianz Partners USA. "While a devilish mix of inflation and strong demand have kept travel prices elevated, as our survey found, Americans are still willing to pay top dollar for a well-earned summer vacation. Protecting pre-paid expenses with a travel insurance policy that also offers travel delay coverage can end up being one of the smartest investments they can make."

The Vacation Confidence Index has been conducted each summer since 2009 by national polling firm Ipsos Public Affairs on behalf of Allianz Partners USA. A vacation is defined as a leisure trip of at least one week to a place that is 100 miles or more from home.

*Methodology: These are the findings of an Ipsos poll conducted on behalf of Allianz. For this survey, a sample of 2,010 Americans aged 18+ was interviewed from May 2 to 4, 2023 via the Ipsos Online Omnibus. The precision of Ipsos online polls is measured using a credibility interval. In this case, the results are accurate to within +/- 2.5 percentage points, 19 times out of 20, of what the results would have been had all American adults been polled. Quota sampling and weighting were employed in order to balance demographics and ensure that the sample's composition reflects that of the actual U.S. population, according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau. Credibility intervals are wider among subsets of the population.