The revenge trip was last year.
“It's not just about leaving the house anymore,” says Sydney Stanback, Head of Global Insights and Trends at Pinterest, which has generated more than 1 billion travel searches and 10 billion travel savings in the past year. states.
While it's true that many of the usual suspects still rank among the most popular destinations on multiple search engines this year, it's even more important to travel with intention this summer. she said.
According to NerdWallet's Summer 2024 Travel Report, 45% of Americans are planning a trip this summer that will involve a hotel stay or flight, and will cost an average of just under $3,600. One-fifth of these travelers expect to take out debt to pay for their vacation.
Here's what to consider when booking a summer trip, including where to go, when to travel, and how to save money.
learn more: best travel insurance
Where are the best places to travel in the summer?
The answer is subjective, especially this summer.
“Everyone seems to be choosing their own adventures based on their travel needs,” Stanback says.
Pinterest's Summer 2024 Travel Report found that summer travelers are most interested in adventure, exploring mysterious or unknown destinations, and rest. Searches for “quiet life” increased by 530% for her, but that doesn't mean the same thing for everyone.
“My mom actually just went on a yoga retreat to Panama,” Stanback said. “That's what she needed to do to get the rest and happiness that she needed. But for me, when I think about rest and recovery, I think about going to a beach spa and just sitting and being alone.” That's all I'm thinking about.
Solo travel remains popular. Searches for solo travel on Google reached an all-time high in January, but that doesn't apply to everyone.
“For Gen Z in particular, that need is to come together in community and reconnect, because they've been isolated for so long and they've been at such a meaningful time in their lives,” Stanback said. She noted that group travel and road trips are of strong interest to Gen Z.
“It's not necessarily about traveling and going out and going to restaurants and bars and clubs,” she added. “In fact, we're seeing that more often with younger generations. They're taking a step back from that and really thinking about their health when they go on vacation.”
Where do most tourists go in the summer?
Expedia's Summer Outlook and Google Flights identified the same cities among the most searched destinations for summer 2024 based on flights, but rankings varied by platform.
Top 5 domestic travel destinations
- new york
- orlando
- Los Angeles
- Las Vegas
- Seattle
Top 5 international destinations
Allianz Partners found slightly different results after analyzing “more than 6 million flight itineraries for five- to eight-day travel booked between Memorial Day weekend and Labor Day.” discovered.
Allianz has named Boston and Honolulu as its top five domestic travel destinations this summer, replacing Los Angeles and Las Vegas. Overseas: San Jose del Cabo, Mexico. Oranjestad, Aruba. Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic replaced Rome, Paris and Tokyo in Allianz's top five.
“We expect crowds to rival last summer's numbers in popular cities overseas,” said Melanie Fish, a travel expert at Expedia. I pointed out that it was. “They're experimenting with fees, but if that's not enough, they'll have to go further.”
How can I save money on travel?
Summer travel is already expensive for many travelers. According to Deloitte's Facing Travel's April Future Report, “Americans with household incomes of less than $100,000 accounted for nearly half (46%) of planned leisure travel spending in summer 2023.” That's what it means.
Expedia's Fish shares five tips for booking your summer vacation in 2024.
- Bundle your travels. You can get huge discounts when you book flights and hotels at the same time.
- If possible, travel mid-week or later in the summer. You can save money and protect yourself from fighting with crowds.
- Fly early in the day … Early birds who catch the first flight of the day usually get better fares and are less likely to be delayed or canceled.
- Earn twice with one booking. You can stack up on travel credit cards (and) airline rewards.
- Just go. Don't put pressure on yourself to create the trip of a lifetime. If possible, do it in bite-sized pieces.
“Expensive in every way”:What travelers should expect this summer
How far in advance should I book my trip?
“The sweet spot is now,” Fish said. “Now is the time to start planning, as you have a 21-60 day window before you travel where you can save about 15% on airfare. That means you're ready, but you won't actually take action until August. I might wait.”
She said travelers could save an average of $250 on international flights by waiting until the peak summer travel season has passed.
“Domestic flights in August are on average 15% cheaper than June, flights to Europe in late summer are 30% cheaper, and flights to Mexico and the Caribbean in August are 55% cheaper,” she said. said. “Of course, August is peak hurricane season, so that has something to do with the lower prices.”
