Stats: 72 Percent of Americans Did Not Take a Summer Vacation

By Matt Turner Sep 3, 2020 10:47am

Nearly three-quarters of Americans (72 percent) did not take a summer vacation this year. Of those who did travel this summer, 71 percent opted for a road trip rather than flying. This is according to a recent survey by Value Penguin by LendingTree.

Among those that did take a trip, men were more likely to travel than women (37 percent to 20 percent) and younger Americans said they traveled more than older Americans (39 percent, 36 percent and 37 percent of Gen Z, Millennials and Gen Xers, respectively, traveled; compared to 13 percent of Baby Boomers and 9 percent of the Silent Generation). Nearly half of those with kids under 18 (46 percent) took a summer vacation.

It would also make sense that many Americans did not utilize their paid time off (PTO) this summer. Nearly half (44 percent) did not use any, while 22 percent used less PTO than normal. Just one-third (34 percent) used PTO normally. The reasons? Not having anywhere to travel; saving it up for a later date; having no money for travel; worrying about furloughs of layoffs; and feeling guilty using PTO while working from home were the top responses.

In addition, one-third of consumers had to delay a milestone trip, such as a graduation celebration or a honeymoon. Among parents of children under 18, 50 percent had to cancel a celebratory trip. Overall, one-fifth of Americans (21 percent) said they went to fewer special events this summer.

ValuePenguin commissioned Qualtrics to conduct an online survey of 1,105 Americans, with the sample base proportioned to represent the overall population. The survey was fielded August 13-17, 2020. The generations were defined as: Gen Z (ages 18 to 23); Millennials (24 to 39); Gen X (40 to 54); Baby Boomers (55 to 74); Silent Generation (75 and older).

Source: Value Penguin

Stats: 72 Percent of Americans Did Not Take a Summer Vacation

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