The American Vacation Is Proving Surprisingly Resilient

Kansas City, MO – Americans may be watching their wallets, but they aren’t giving up their vacations. New findings from MMGY’s 2026 Portrait of American Travelers™ “Fall Edition” reveal that travel demand is rebounding this fall, with Americans expecting to spend $5,655 on leisure travel over the next 12 months and take nearly four vacations, both up from the “Summer Edition” of the survey.

Instead of eliminating travel, consumers are increasingly making trade-offs to preserve it. More than a third (35%) are traveling during off-peak periods, while nearly a third (32%) are reducing spending elsewhere in their lives to protect their vacation budgets. And while cost matters, travelers also define value through the experiences a trip delivers, including quality time with family and friends and creating lasting memories.

Americans continue to tell us that travel is something they’re willing to protect, even when household budgets are under pressure. What’s changing is how they make those trips possible. Travelers are becoming more strategic about when they go, where they spend and what they consider worth paying. At the same time, widening generational and income divides mean there is no longer a single definition of value. For travel brands, understanding those differences is becoming just as important as understanding overall demand.

Simon Moriarty, MMGY’s Vice President of Syndicated Research

Based on interviews with 4,500 U.S. adults, Portrait of American Travelers™ is the travel industry’s longest-running examination of leisure travel behavior in America. Among the most notable findings in the “Fall Edition” of the report:

• Travel demand has rebounded, but not equally. Expected leisure travel spending has climbed to $5,655 over the next 12 months, while expected trips increased from 3.5 this summer to 3.9. But a significant divide is emerging by age and income: Boomers expect to spend $8,796 on travel over the next year, over four times the $2,195 expected by Gen Z travelers. The report also details the impact that household income has on travel intentions.

• Travelers are finding new ways to make vacations fit their budgets. Cost is also pushing more travelers toward domestic destinations, with 64% citing lower expense as a reason to stay within the U.S. Yet value extends beyond price, with travelers prioritizing quality time, lasting memories and quality accommodations.

• AI is reshaping travel discovery but it hasn’t taken over the booking journey. More than half of leisure travelers (51%) have used AI for travel planning, up 11 percentage points year over year. Adoption reaches 71% among Gen Z travelers and 68% among households with children. Yet just 4% of travelers rank AI among their first three trip-planning steps, suggesting its greatest influence today remains in inspiration and discovery rather than conversion. 

• Nature and the outdoors remain perennial reasons to travel. While several leading travel motivators softened year over year, interest in outdoor adventure and state and national parks has remained resilient. Among travelers interested in visiting parks, Yellowstone (75%) and the Grand Canyon (66%) rank highest, reinforcing the enduring appeal of outdoor experiences across the travel landscape.

MMGY's findings point to an increasingly fragmented U.S. travel market. Americans remain committed to vacations, but the ways they define value, discover destinations and allocate their travel dollars increasingly vary by generation and income. For destinations and travel brands, competing for the next trip will require understanding not simply whether consumers intend to travel but what different audiences prioritize and are willing to pay for. In the full report, MMGY analysts explore what’s driving these shifts and how destination marketers can respond to capture their share of future travel demand.

The 2026 Portrait of American Travelers™ “Fall Edition” is now available for purchase or as part of an all-access subscription to EurekA!, MMGY’s searchable research platform. To explore more, visit mmgyintel.com.