Summer travel at six-year low, budgets up 17%

Luxury Travel Advisor on May 19 highlighted new Deloitte survey data showing a split summer travel market in the United States. Deloitte said 45% of Americans plan to take a summer vacation that includes paid lodging, the lowest share in six years, even as people who still expect to travel are planning to spend more. The consulting firm said travelers expect to spend about $4,069 on their longest summer trip, up 17% from 2025. The findings were published in Deloitte’s “2026 Summer Travel Survey” on May 19. ### What exactly fell to a six-year low? Deloitte said the share of Americans planning a summer vacation with paid lodging fell to 45% in 2026, the lowest level in the last six years. The firm framed that as a pullback in travel participation rather than a collapse in trip-taking among people who still intend to go. (luxurytraveladvisor.com) Luxury Travel Advisor’s May 19 report summarized that result as summer travel hitting a six-year low. Its account pointed readers to Deloitte’s underlying survey and focused on the gap between fewer people traveling and higher spending by those who do. ### Why are fewer Americans planning trips? Deloitte said cost pressures were the main reason some Americans were staying home. (prnewswire.com) Among non-travelers, 32% said travel is too expensive and 35% said they cannot afford it, according to the survey. The same Deloitte release said rising airline and lodging prices were a major factor in budget decisions. (luxurytraveladvisor.com) In its survey write-up, the firm said travel enthusiasm was facing “a new cost reality,” with some households opting out while others were prepared to pay more. (prnewswire.com) ### How can budgets rise if fewer people are traveling? Deloitte said the higher budget figure applies to people who are still planning trips, not to all Americans. Travelers surveyed said they expect to spend an average of $4,069 on their longest summer trip, up 17% from last year. (prnewswire.com) The survey also said those travelers expect to take an average of 3.1 summer trips, the same as in 2025, while traveling for more days and spending more on experiences. About one in four travelers plan to significantly raise trip budgets, up five percentage points from 2025, mostly because of higher airline and lodging prices, Deloitte said. (prnewswire.com) ### Who is still spending? Deloitte said younger travelers are driving a larger share of the spending resilience. Gen Z travelers expect to take 3.4 summer trips, up 19% from 2025, and millennials expect to take 3.3 trips, up 5%, according to the firm’s release. (prnewswire.com) The survey also found that 34% of travelers plan to work during their longest summer trip, up from 23% in 2025. Deloitte said younger travelers are more likely than older groups to spend more than last year, travel more often and use generative AI and other technology to plan itineraries. (prnewswire.com) ### What should readers watch in the underlying data? Deloitte said its “2026 Summer Travel Survey” was published on May 19 and presented as “Flight or fold: Travelers navigate pricing pressure.” The report was written by Kate Ferrara, Eileen Crowley, Matt Josephson, Matt Soderberg, Maggie Rauch and Upasana Naik, according to Deloitte’s Insights page. (prnewswire.com) The next step for readers is the source material itself: Deloitte’s May 19 survey and the May 19 Luxury Travel Advisor report summarizing it. Those documents contain the topline figures on paid-lodging intent, longest-trip budgets and the reasons non-travelers cited for staying home. (luxurytraveladvisor.com) (deloitte.com)