With Memorial Day this weekend and high schools and colleges graduating all over the United States, the summer travel season is upon us. Generali Global Assistance’s Travel Insurance division has just released the results of its annual summer travel survey, and the results are fascinating.
The good news is that Americans are traveling again. The study found that after two slower years, some 68% of Americans plan to head out on a summer vacation, a significant increase from 61% in 2016. In fact, Americans tied with famously fun-loving Brazilians at 68% as most likely to travel, just ahead of the Chinese (67%) and Europeans (64%).
The study also found that Millennials continue to change travel, particularly when it comes to lodging. While only 38% of the people surveyed said they would rent someone’s house or apartment, 59% of Millennials said they would. And while just 20% of those surveyed said they would rent a room in someone’s house, 37% of Millennials would.
Millennials are also much more likely to try new activities when traveling, like camping or staying in a cabin in the wilderness, hosting other travelers, eco-tourism, traveling the world or even just staying in a local’s home. Some 83% of Millennials try such activities versus 67% of the general population.
This year, budgets for U.S travelers are $2,643, while average trip duration increased to 1.5 weeks. Nearly half (46%) of U.S. travelers will book their trip at least 4 months in advance, a big selling point for travel insurance companies like Generali.
“Summer travel has rebounded nicely over the past two years as an improved labor market, wage growth, and tax cuts have all lead to increased consumer confidence,” says Chris Carnicelli, CEO, Generali Global Assistance “While budgets have remained relatively flat, these positive economic factors have led to an increase in consumers discretionary purchasing power, affording more Americans the ability to take summer vacations this year.”
With vacation budgets not growing, the study found that 46% of vacationers will stay within the U.S. this year, up five percentage points from 2017.
For those who do venture further afield, the top international pick for Americans to visit at least once in their lives was Paris, with 19% choosing the City of Light. Despite crowds and recent terrorist incidents, Paris is the number one destination for American, Brazilian, Indian and Chinese travelers alike.
Another 19% of Americans say London is tops on their bucket list, versus just 12% of Europeans. And while 15% of Europeans feel there’s no place like Rome, at least to visit once in their lifetimes, only 10% of Americans feel the same way. And while 25% of Europeans say New York is their top pick to visit at least once in their lives, only 15% of Americans agree.
Americans and Europeans continue to vacation differently. For Americans, spending time with family and friends was most desired, by 48%. But for Europeans, relaxing tops the list (54%). This might also explain why Europeans seem much better than Americans at unplugging from work; 66% of Europeans can do it, versus 55% of Americans. Some 56% of Europeans say they will also spend less time on social media on vacation, versus just 40% of Americans and 31% of Chinese.
Finally, the survey shows that Europeans are far more likely to purchase travel insurance directly from a travel insurance provider (48%) than Americans (22%). Most Americans say they get travel insurance through their credit card company, 36%.
But Generali warns that Americans should check the travel insurance that is actually provided with credits cards. The insurance giant claims that credit cards may not offer enough coverage for travelers, especially when it comes to coverage for trip cancellation, medical and evacuation coverages, pre-existing medical conditions, limits and covering other travelers on the same trip.
