Summer Spending Will Top $100 Billion This Year

Jul 16, 2017

What:
According to Allianz Global Assistance’s eighth-annual “Vacation Confidence Index,” which was released earlier this month, summer vacation spending will be more than $100 billion this year — a 12.5 percent increase over 2016. A “vacation” is defined as a trip that lasts a minimum of one week and is at least 100 miles from home.

Why It Matters:
This is the second consecutive year that Americans have increased their travel allowances, and it’s the first time in the survey’s history that spending has topped $100 billion. This positive shift offers travel advisors a great opportunity for securing new business or reaffirming already established relationships. Agents would do well to check up on clients’ summer travel plans and boost existing marketing efforts.

Fast Facts:
- Respondents who are confident they will take a vacation are planning to spend $101.1 billion, up from $89.9 billion last year.

- On average, a summer vacation will cost $1,978, a 10 percent increase from 2016.

- Millennials will spend the least on travel this summer, followed by Baby Boomers. Generation X will spend the most ($2,628) on average.

- Four in 10 Americans surveyed are confident they will take a summer vacation, while 40 percent aren’t confident that they will take a vacation.

- The survey found no significant change in the Vacation Deficit, or the percentage of travelers who think vacations are important but who are not sure they’ll be able to take one themselves.

- The annual Vacation Confidence Index has been released each year since 2010.

What They Are Saying:
“Americans are feeling better about the economy and have loosened their purse strings for summer 2017,” said Daniel Durazo, director of communications for Allianz Global Assistance USA. “We’re happy to see that for first time in the eight-year history of the Vacation Confidence Index, vacation spending will hit an impressive $100 billion. This new milestone is great news for the travel industry.”

“With the vacation spend breaking $100 billion, travel insurance is a must-have,” Durazo said. “The right travel insurance policy can protect a consumer’s pre-paid travel expenses when they have to cancel their trip due to certain unexpected situations, such as a covered illness or injury, and it may also provide reimbursements for things like medical emergencies, delayed travel and lost or delayed baggage.”