The Experience Economy Endures: 2023 Deloitte Summer Travel Survey

Signs point to a busy season, as pricing pressure does not seem to deter Americans from enjoying their vacations.

More than two years after the rollout of COVID-19 vaccines helped relaunch the experience economy, this summer is poised to improve on an already buoyant Summer 2022. Half of Americans say they will take a leisure vacation (involving a stay in paid lodging; see figure 1) this summer, up from 46% in 2022. And they are doing so with enthusiasm, taking more international flights and adding an average of one trip to their calendar. Concerns, however, persist—50% of nontravelers say they will stay home due to financial worries.

The specter of COVID-19 is still driving some revenge travel. One in five say they planned their marquee summer trip to make up for trips they missed out on during the pandemic. And among those who plan to spend more than in 2022, nearly three in 10 say they are making up for missed travel (28%) or taking a bucket-list trip (32%).

With greater confidence and more time to plan in advance, the US traveler pool has expanded. Many are taking long-delayed dream trips, but even more are planning to add short getaways during the season. This could signal healthy demand for more mass-market travel products, such as major attractions and limited-service hotels. All travel segments look to benefit from this strong travel intent (figure 2). Notably, a growing number are taking advantage of more open, convenient, and predictable overseas travel, as most pandemic-related border restrictions have been lifted. The share of people who intend to take an international flight climbed more than 1.5X, from 14% in 2022 to 22% this year.

Even if concerns about the travel experience linger after last summer, they do not seem to be keeping people at home. The possibility of disruption in the form of delayed or canceled flights was cited by just 6% of nontravelers, a huge drop compared to 18% over the winter holiday season.¹

As the summer begins, health concerns no longer hobble the travel industry (health risks were cited by 8% of nontravelers in 2023 vs. 33% in 2022). And while financial worries look poised to limit some trips, Americans are finding room in their budgets for the adventure, discovery, and relaxation that travel can provide. Whether they are making up for lost time, spending down savings, or placing higher priority on experiences and memory-making, Americans continue to find reasons to prioritize travel.

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Methodology

A representative sample of 3,583 Americans took this survey between March 31 and April 6, 2023. Of those, 2,262 qualified as travelers. A smaller subset of 1,957 respondents, who plan to stay in paid lodging, rather than only with friends and relatives, completed the longest version of the survey.

^{1. Deloitte Insights, 2022 Deloitte holiday survey, April 2023. View in Article}

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank Stephen Rogers, Marcello Gasdia, Srinivasarao Oguri, and Rithu Thomas for their contributions to this article.

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