Stats: American 2017 Vacation Spending Increases by 12.5 Percent

Americans are spending more than $100 billion on summer vacations this year for the first time, a survey from Allianz Travel Insurance Vacation Confidence Index shows.

This spike in summer vacation spending represents a 12.5 percent increase over last year, also showing that Americans’ spending habits have increased for the second consecutive year. The eighth annual survey projects the total amount spent on vacations this summer will be $101.1 billion, up from $89.9 billion last year. Allianz also reported that, on average, Americans will spend $1,978 on summer vacations this year – a 10 percent increase from last year’s $1798 average. 

The survey found that Generation X summertime vacationers will spend double the amount that Millennials spend, while still spending more than Baby Boomers as well. Millennials – those between the ages of 18 and 24 – will spend $1,373, while Baby Boomers – those ages 55 and over – will spend $1,865, followed by Generation Xers – those between the ages of 35 to 54 – to top it all off with an average spending of $2,628.

The Allianz survey tracks Americans’ confidence that they will be able to take a summer vacation, Allianz said in a press release. This revealed that more than four in 10 people – about 44 percent of Americans – are confident that they will take a summer vacation this year, while 51 percent are confident that they will at least take a vacation at some point during 2017. 

Daniel Durazo, director of communications at Allianz Global Assistance USA, said in the release that Americans are feeling “better” about the economy and have “loosened their purse strings” this summer. He sees the bump in summer vacationing as “great news for the travel industry.”

Meanwhile, though Americans are a pinch more confident they’ll take a vacation this year, some are beginning to question its overall importance. The survey found that 59 percent of Americans say that taking an annual vacation is important to them, down six points since last year. Twenty-three percent of Americans say that annual vacations are not important to them at all this year. 

The Vacation Confidence Index has been conducted each summer since 2010 by national polling firm Ipsos Public Affairs

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