Body
Higher fuel costs tied to the Iran war and other inflationary pressures are changing how Americans plan to travel as the Memorial Day holiday weekend kicks off the traditional start of the summer season. For some families, that has meant trading long trips for shorter stays closer to home and finding cheaper ways to get around.
In coastal Rhode Island, Stephanie Bernaba, 47, said her family has swapped pricier travel—such as long summer stays in Florida and an annual Disney World visit—for local beaches, bike rides and hiking trails near home. She said, “I’ve 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.”
The reshaping is not just about where Americans go, but about how much they are willing to spend as prices for transportation and other travel-related items rise. The U.S. Travel Association expected annual travel spending to grow by a modest 1% this year, driven largely by domestic leisure travel, even as the FIFA World Cup provides another reason for some visitors to come to the U.S.
In its estimate for the holiday weekend, the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy said Americans would collectively spend an extra $3.5 billion on gasoline. AAA reported the average price for a gallon of regular gas in the U.S. was $4.56 on Thursday, compared with $3.18 a year earlier, and that higher jet-fuel and airfare costs are affecting travel globally as the war constrains supplies.
Other parts of travel spending are also rising. The latest consumer price index report showed airfares were 20.7% higher in April than a year earlier, intracity transit costs such as buses and subways rose 5.6%, lodging cost 4.3% more, and eating out was 3.6% pricier. Despite those pressures, industry forecasts suggest many Americans still want to get away, often replacing longer trips with longer weekends, choosing destinations closer to home, and cutting costs by cooking meals or using buses and trains instead of driving.
AAA predicted that 45 million U.S. residents would travel at least 50 miles between Thursday and Monday for the holiday, and the Transportation Security Administration said it expects to screen 18.3 million passengers from Thursday to next Wednesday. Still, analysts described travel spending as “K-shaped,” with higher-income households continuing to spend while lower-income families pull back or opt out. Bank of America said lower-income households were more likely to report having no summer travel plans this year.
Other indicators also point to pullbacks among some consumers. New polling of registered voters by Quinnipiac University found that 48% have cut back on vacation spending, 54% reduced what they spend on dining out, and 36% curbed their driving. Bernaba said the decision to scale back is already being felt within her household, where a second family backed out after seeing the cost of the planned trip.
Travelers are also contending with factors beyond price. The AP report said airlines around the world have canceled flights and trimmed routes to save on fuel and operating costs, leaving passengers with fewer options. It also said the conflict in the Middle East has complicated routes and rerouted flights to and from Asia, and it cited broader geopolitical tensions and the declining value of the dollar for people considering trips abroad.
Marta Soligo, a tourism sociologist at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, said the planning stress is driven by uncertainty. “The key word here is unpredictability,” Soligo said. “Tourists don’t like unpredictability.”
Other travelers describe reshaping trips around logistics and value. Jim Wang, a personal finance blogger in Maryland, said his family’s plan to travel to Spain for a full solar eclipse in August started to unravel after they looked at airfare and the need for multiple connecting flights, plus a car rental in northern Spain. Wang said, “It’s like, ‘Oh, I don’t know if I want to see the eclipse that much,’” and instead planned a trip this summer to the Lake Tahoe area where they can stay at a relative’s cabin for free.
Nancy McGehee, a Virginia Tech hospitality professor who studies consumer behavior, said the change is reflected in how people think about vacations. “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?’” McGehee said. “It’s more quality over quantity that we’re seeing people go for.”