Summer travel increasingly unaffordable for Americans: Survey

53% of those surveyed would have vacationed if costs were lower
2,500 were surveyed by Redfield & Wilton Strategies
Gen X was the most likely to take a trip if it were cheaper

Updated: Jul 8, 2024 / 01:04 PM CDT

Tourists and lifeguard tower on Surfside Beach along the Atlantic Ocean in Miami-Dade County, Florida

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Editor’s Note: This story has been updated to reflect that many Americans feel summer travel is unaffordable due to high cost of living.

(NewsNation) — Given the economic challenges facing many Americans currently, a high number of those surveyed in a June poll by Newsweek revealed they cannot afford a vacation in the near future.

A Redfield and Wilton Strategies survey, conducted for Newsweek, revealed 44% of participants would not be taking a trip in the coming three months. Of that group, 53% said they would have gone on vacation if the cost of living was lower.

Of those who are still traveling abroad, 64% said their itinerary was affected by cost of living.

If it were cheaper, Gen X were the most likely to have vacationed (57%), then millennials at 54%, followed by Gen Z and boomers (both 50%).

Senior industry analyst at Bankrate, Ted Rossman told Newsweek that cost of living his grown exponentially in recent years.

“For example, a collection of common household expenses costs about 20 percent more now than it did in early 2022,” Rossman said.

“”Higher interest rates have pinched buying power as well, especially for the roughly half of credit card holders who carry debt from month-to-month at an average rate of 20.71 percent.”