On the eve of Memorial Day—traditionally the long weekend that kicks off the U.S. summer travel season—some families are recalculating what a vacation looks like. Higher fuel prices and other travel costs are making trips more expensive, prompting travelers in some parts of the country to swap long summer stays for shorter getaways and lower-cost options.
For Rhode Island mother of three Stephanie Bernaba, the shift has been deliberate. She said she has been “trying to do more of that because one, it’s quality time. Two, it’s fresh air. And three, we’re not spending an arm and a leg,” describing how her family has moved away from costlier outings such as long Florida trips and an annual Disney World visit. This summer, she said, her plan leans toward local beaches, bike rides and hiking trails near her home.
Bernaba’s household still sees the price pressure even when it scales down. She cited costs of more than $400 for a ferry to Martha’s Vineyard for her car and passengers, and about $800 a night for each of the two hotel rooms the family of five needs. Another family that had planned to join them backed out after seeing the price tag, Bernaba said, adding, “The pinch is being felt all the way around.”
The cost squeeze is tied to broader travel-price trends that have intensified since the Iran war and other inflationary pressures, according to the report. The U.S. Travel Association expects annual travel spending to grow by a modest 1% this year, with domestic leisure travel supporting demand. The report also says airfare increases have tracked rising jet fuel costs around the world as the war constrains global oil supplies.
Gas prices are a visible part of the adjustment. AAA reported that the average price for a gallon of regular gas in the U.S. was $4.56 on Thursday, compared with $3.18 a year ago. The report also described other travel expense increases, citing the latest consumer price index showing airfares up 20.7% in April from a year earlier, intracity transit costs up 5.6%, lodging up 4.3% and eating out up 3.6%.
Even with those elevated prices, industry forecasts suggest many Americans still want to travel. AAA predicted that 45 million U.S. residents would travel at least 50 miles from home between Thursday and Monday for the holiday, while the Transportation Security Administration said it expects to screen 18.3 million passengers from Thursday to next Wednesday. Analysts cited in the report said consumers appear to be shifting demand more than abandoning it—replacing long trips with long weekends, selecting destinations closer to home, and cutting costs by cooking meals or using buses and trains instead of driving.
Business analysts also described the pattern as uneven across households. The report said some economists and market research have increasingly described travel spending as “K-shaped,” with higher-income households continuing to spend while lower-income families pull back or opt out entirely. Bank of America analysts said lower-income households were significantly more likely to report having no summer travel plans this year. In polling of registered voters by Quinnipiac University, 48% said they have cut back on vacation spending, 54% have reduced what they spend on dining out, and 36% have curbed their driving.
Other factors besides cost are also complicating travel planning. The report said airlines worldwide have canceled flights and trimmed routes to save on fuel and operating costs, leaving passengers with fewer options, and that conflict in the Middle East has complicated travel and rerouted some flights to and from Asia. It also pointed to recent U.S. government shutdowns as a source of disruption that may still be fresh in travelers’ minds.
Tourism sociologist Marta Soligo, who studies visitor behavior at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, said the combination of pressures is making trips more mentally taxing. She told the report, “The key word here is unpredictability,” adding, “Tourists don’t like unpredictability.”
Alongside those pressures, some travelers are also changing the “why” behind their trips. Jim Wang, a personal finance blogger in Maryland, said his family’s plan to travel to Spain to see a full solar eclipse in August began to unravel once they looked at the logistics, including thousands of dollars in airfare and the need for multiple connecting flights and a car rental. He said, “It’s like, ‘Oh, I don’t know if I want to see the eclipse that much,’” and instead planned to go this summer to the Lake Tahoe area, where he said they can stay in a relative’s cabin for free and hike while enjoying a slower pace.
Nancy McGehee, a Virginia Tech hospitality professor who studies consumer behavior, said travelers are increasingly focusing more on the “why than the where” when deciding on vacations. She told the report: “What we’re seeing is people are saying, ‘Alright, we can’t do that big splashy trip we wanted to do, but what else can we do?’” and added, “It’s more quality over quantity that we’re seeing people go for.”
For Bernaba, the recalibration means embracing a different kind of travel season for now. She said, “I think that’s probably why my mind has gone to doing more nature-y things,” explaining, “Let’s learn how to use the earth to enjoy ourselves because that’s not going to cost as much money.”