Travel spending among American households continues to outpace its pre-pandemic levels, a trend underpinned by a zeal for international trips, according to new Bank of America research.
"A key part of travel momentum lies within vacationing abroad," Taylor Bowley and Joe Wadford, economists at the Bank of America Institute, wrote in a note Wednesday.
Overall, travel spending is down slightly from 2023, yet it remains "much higher" than 2019 — up by 10.6% per household, they wrote, citing Bank of America credit and debit card data from January to mid-August.
About 17% of Americans said in June that they intended to vacation abroad during the next six months, up from roughly 14% in 2018 and 2019, according to a recent Conference Board survey.
"I do expect the demand to continue," said Hayley Berg, lead economist at travel site Hopper.
Persons:
Taylor Bowley, Joe Wadford, Taylor, Wadford, Hayley Berg, Hopper
Organizations:
Bank of America, Bank of America Institute, Finance, Board