Surging travel costs have been the story of the season, so it’s no surprise that travelers are spending more per night on their summer vacations. A new report by Allianz Partners shows a rebound in travel this summer, with Americans willing to spend more and stay longer to make up for lost vacation time. The 2023 Vacation Confidence Index—the 15th Annual installment—reveals numbers showing that travel is once again becoming a priority, whatever the cost.
While 2019 saw the beginning of the “micro-cation” trend, a term coined by Allianz to describe a leisure trip of four nights or fewer and at least 100 miles away from home, the average number of nights spent away from home has increased from 4.1 in 2021 to 4.3 in 2022 and now 4.5 in 2023.
Americans are still taking shorter trips—64% of Index respondents say their next vacation will still be a “micro-cation”—but increasing the number of trips. 72% of respondents plan to travel away from home at least one night, and 39% of respondents are taking multiple 2+ night trips.
The short length of these trips means travelers are more likely to splurge, and with vacation spending expected to hit an all-time high of $214.1 billion in 2023, travelers are spending more per night on average. For one-night trips, the average spend is up to $622. The nightly spending decreases as additional nights are added, but the nightly average is still up by nearly $100 per night.
The Vacation Confidence Index has been conducted each summer since 2009 by national polling firm Ipsos Public Affairs on behalf of Allianz Partners USA. Find more info about this year’s Index here.