RICHMOND, VA--(Marketwired - June 26, 2015) - More Americans will travel, but spend less, on summer vacations in 2015 as millennials plan to save money on travel, according to the sixth annual Allianz Travel Insurance Vacation Confidence Index released today by Allianz Global Assistance USA. This year's survey suggests that consumers are eager to save money on their summer travel and will be looking for trips that offer the best possible value.
Americans will spend $85.5 billion on summer vacations in 2015, down 13.5% from $98.8 billion in 2014, despite a 0.5% increase in the number of Americans who are confident they will take a vacation this summer.
The survey, which tracks Americans' confidence they'll be able to take a summer vacation and reports how much they intend to spend while vacationing, shows that 2015 will be the year of value-seeking travelers. The average American taking a vacation this summer will spend an average $1621, down from $1895 in 2014. And more vacationers (19%) this year will travel on the cheap by spending less than $400 on their vacation, far more than in 2014 (13%).
The fall in summer vacation spending is being driven by young Americans aged between 18 and 34, the most confident of any age group in taking a summer vacation (50.5%). Almost 40% of millennials plan to spend less than $400 on summer travel; double all other age groups combined.
The survey also reported that the country's "Vacation Deficit" has eased. The Vacation Deficit is the percentage of Americans who think that a vacation is important but are not confident they'll be able to take one.
In 2015, just shy of one in five (19%) Americans who say a vacation is important to them are not confident that they'll take a vacation, meaning that the vacation deficit is down by 2 points since last year and 5 points since 2013.
A majority (51%, down 1 point from 2014) of Americans remain confident (36% very/16%) that they'll take a vacation in 2015, compared to just 36% (down 3 points) who are not confident (19% not at all/17% not very). One in 10 (10%, up 2 points) has already taken a vacation, while 3% simply aren't sure.
In fact, six in 10 (57%, up 1 point) say that taking an annual vacation is important (28% very/29% important) to them, while 43% (down 1 point) say that an annual getaway is not important (21% not at all/22% not very) to them.
"More travelers are looking to save money on their summer vacations this year, and the travel industry needs to respond with value-focused offerings," said Mike Nelson, CEO at Allianz Global Assistance USA. "With Americans focused on making the most of their travel investment, one way to potentially save money is with travel insurance. The right travel insurance policy will protect a consumer's pre-paid travel expenses when they have to cancel their trip due to certain unexpected circumstances such as a covered illness or injury and will provide reimbursements for things like medical emergencies, delayed travel and lost or delayed baggage.*"
The Vacation Confidence Index has been conducted each summer since 2010 by national polling firm Ipsos Public Affairs on behalf of Allianz Global Assistance USA. A vacation is defined as a trip of at least a week to a spot that is more than 100 miles from home.
Methodology: These are some of the findings of an Ipsos poll conducted June 5th to 9th, 2015. For the survey, a nationally representative sample of 1,000 randomly-selected adults residing in the U.S. interviewed by telephone via Ipsos' U.S. Telephone Express omnibus. With a sample of this size, the results are considered accurate within ±3.1 percentage points, 19 times out of 20, of what they would have been had the entire population of adults in the U.S. been polled. The margin of error will be larger within regions and for other sub-groupings of the survey population. These data were weighted to ensure the sample's regional and age/gender composition reflects that of the actual U.S. population according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau.