The US travel market is reporting record anticipated travel budgets and unprecedented appetite for international destinations, according to findings from leading tourism market research firm Future Partners. The research provides further encouragement for southern and East African nations, many of which have already enjoyed record arrivals from the market this year.
The State of the American Traveler report for September, canvassing over 4 000 respondents, highlights the maximum amount Americans are willing to spend on travel during the next 12 months: a record high of US$5 412. This is a remarkable 31% higher than the US$3 711 travel spend reported in September 2023. Nearly six in 10 respondents (58.8%) said travel would be a high budget priority for them in the next three months compared with 50.8% last year.
The growing clout of the Gen Z and Millennial travel markets shines in the research. Young travellers – Gen Z (35.6%) and Millennials (41.8%) – are significantly more likely to say they are better off financially now than a year ago compared to older travellers – Gen X (28.1%) and Baby Boomers (26%).
“In general, American travellers overall continue to maintain a stable financial outlook with a steady sense of current financial well-being and a positive outlook,” the report states.
Americans’ excitement for travel remains at near record levels of 8.2 on a 0-10 scale (the same as it was one year ago).
“Travel volume mirrors the stability we are seeing around financial outlook and travel spending sentiment,” Future Partners says.
Record interest for trips abroad
American travellers are increasingly turning their attention abroad for upcoming trips. A total of 37.7% said they are likely or very likely to take a trip outside the US in the next 12 months (an all-time high). The charge is again being led by Gen Z (43%) and Millennials (39.8%) followed closely by Gen X (36.1%) and Baby Boomers (36.5%).
Notably, safety concerns, around crime and violence, are by far the most important consideration in destination selection, outpacing expense, health risk, extreme weather, societal issues and politics across all generations.
The US market has played the leading role in buoying the recovery of southern and East Africa’s biggest tourism economies post-COVID. According to Kenya’s Tourism Research Institute, arrivals from the US totalled 265 310 in 2023, comfortably surpassing the 245 437 recorded in 2019. US buoyancy is further reflected in Statistics South Africa’s figures for the first half of 2024, which show the market outperformed the comparative 2019 figure by 2.4% with record 187 691 arrivals.
