Rich Americans Plan to Travel Twice as Much in the Next Year

According to a study from The Vacationer from this past June, 80% of Americans had expressed intent to travel this summer. Another 45% said they would travel more than once. In other words, 93 million Americans were expected to travel at least once this summer and 115 million to travel more than once. And if you counted yourself among that group, you likely felt it. All the usual locales were flooded with tourists, making the prospect of traveling to them…unpleasant, to say the least.

Alternatively, if you’re anything like me, you might’ve waited until September — historically the “off season” — to take an international jaunt, in an effort to avoid said tourists. That said, if you find yourself in the latter category, or if you have a trip coming up any time in the next few months, brace yourself.

Per a new study called Portrait of American International Travelers by marketing agency MMGY, “affluent” Americans — more specifically, Americans with an annual household income of over $100,000 who have a passport and have traveled outside of North America in the past two years — are gearing up to take almost twice as many international trips over the course of the next 12 months, compared to before the pandemic.

“It’s clear that there is a willingness and growing appetite to travel internationally, but the important thing for marketers to note is that the American traveler looks and acts quite differently than they did before COVID-19,” said Cees Bosselaar, MMGY Travel Intelligence Europe managing director, according to Skift.

By “acts differently,” he means they spend more money. That also, unsurprisingly, has a lot to do with how the dollar holds up against the euro at present. In fact, Americans anticipate spending just north of $15,000 on international travel in the coming year, which apparently equates to 3.8 vacations a year.

And while that’s all well and good, particularly for the places they’re frequenting (Europe, Canada, the South Pacific and the Caribbean) that rely heavily on tourist revenue, it doesn’t bode well for the rest of us who have been patiently waiting for the crowds to ebb. Or the understaffed airports who have been waiting with bated breath for even the slightest reprieve. But if there is any good news to be gleaned here for us “less affluent” people who also travel, it’s this: there are 193 countries in the world — and you don’t have to go to the Amalfi Coast! You can go, quite literally, anywhere else!