NATIONAL
REPORT — The signs are pointing to a softer 2025 holiday travel season compared to
2024, according to the 2025 Deloitte Holiday Travel Survey.
For the
first time in at least five years, more than half of surveyed Americans plan to
take trips between Thanksgiving and early January, but most of that increase
comes from people staying with friends and family rather than in paid
accommodations.
However,
Deloitte noted that the signs of softness don’t stop there, as planned trip
length and frequency, as well as travel budgets, are all down compared to 2024.
With fewer trips and more conservative spending, travel providers could see a
weaker winter in key metrics, including airline load factors, hotel RevPAR, and activity bookings.
Underlying
the tighter travel budgets is a more subdued financial mood: nearly one in
three Americans say their economic situation is worse than it was a year ago,
up from one in four in 2023. High-income Americans are leading that shift: 19%
with annual household incomes of $100,000 or more feel worse off, compared to
13% in 2024. This concentration of caution among high earners, who tend to take
more trips and spend more on them, could have an outsized impact on travel
spending.
A relatively
brighter financial outlook among young Americans may also be contributing to
the arrival of a notable milestone: For the first time, Generation Z and
millennials are expected to make up half of the traveling public this holiday
season. These younger generations plan to take more trips than older
generations. About one in three travelers this holiday season is expected to
come from the highest-spending generation: millennials, who have an average
holiday travel budget of $2,602.
But even in
a season marked by softer spending, many still plan to continue splurging on
the comfiest seats and the finest rooms. One in four respondents to the survey
meet Deloitte’s threshold for luxury travelers and they are twice as likely to
book first-class air tickets. Additionally, when selecting a hotel, they place
a greater emphasis on customer service and loyalty programs.
While most
Americans plan to travel, this strong incidence masks a season of leaner trips.
The average number of planned holiday trips has dropped to 1.83, down from 2.14
last year, and average planned trip budgets are down 18% to $2,334.
Additionally, 57% of travelers cite cost savings as a motivation for driving
instead of flying.