The share of Americans planning a summer vacation that includes paid lodging has dropped to its lowest point in six years, according to Deloitte’s newly released 2026 Summer Travel Survey, as rising costs widen a divide between those who can no longer afford to travel and those who are spending considerably more when they do.
A six-year low in vacation intent
Deloitte’s survey, conducted among 4,003 Americans between April 2 and April 9, 2026, found that 45% of respondents are planning vacations with stays in paid lodging, the lowest figure in the last six years.
Travel incidence is down across all income levels, but is most pronounced among households earning less than $100,000 per year, falling eight percentage points year-over-year, compared to a four-point decline each for middle- and high-income earners. Rising costs are the primary driver keeping non-travelers home, with 32% citing travel as too expensive and 35% saying they cannot afford it.
Most Americans, 82%, report some impact from everyday expenses on their ability to spend on travel. That pressure is reshaping not just whether people go, but where they go and how they get there.
Those who do plan to travel expect to take the same number of trips, travel for more days, and spend more on their experiences. Among those still planning a trip, common strategies include choosing closer-to-home or less expensive destinations, and driving instead of flying.
Travelers who go are spending sharply more
The survey reveals a widening gulf between the Americans being priced out of travel altogether and those who remain determined to get away. Those who plan to travel expect to spend an average of $4,069 on their longest summer trip, up 17% from last year.
About one in four travelers plan to significantly raise trip budgets, up five percentage points from 2025, with 38% of that group attributing the increase specifically to higher airline and lodging prices.
Air travelers expect to purchase more first-class or business-class fares, up four percentage points year-over-year, and tickets with upgrades, up six percentage points year-over-year, for their marquee summer trips.
Travelers plan to take an average of 3.1 summer trips, the same as last year. Younger travelers expect to travel more: Gen Z travelers plan 3.4 summer trips, up 19% from 2025, while millennials plan for 3.3 trips, up 5%.
Reliability trumps price in airline choices
Price has faded as the primary airline selection driver, falling from 65% in 2025 to 60%, while reliability has risen from 44% to 51%. That shift suggests that travelers still investing in summer trips are less willing to accept bare-bones fares than they were a year ago.
Among travelers planning to fly, 61% plan to take a domestic flight, up from 58% in 2025, and 32% plan to fly internationally, up from 27%. The uptick in international intent is notable given the overall contraction in travel participation, pointing to a segment of determined travelers upgrading rather than downgrading their plans.
One in three travelers (34%) plans to work during their longest summer trip, up from 23% in 2025, blurring the boundary between vacation and the workday. That behavior mirrors what researchers have already noted about dining and discretionary spending, where consumers are protecting valued experiences even as they trim around the edges.
A K-shaped travel economy
Deloitte’s findings point to what analysts are calling a K-shaped travel economy, a term borrowed from broader economic commentary. At one end, a growing segment of lower- and middle-income households is being squeezed out of paid summer travel entirely. At the other, higher-income and younger travelers are leaning into upgrades, longer trips, and international itineraries.
Millennials represent nearly a third of all travelers surveyed, 31%, up from 29% in 2025. Higher-income travelers are showing increased interest in full-service hotels, at 59% in 2026 versus 54% in 2025.
The pattern is consistent with what other researchers have tracked across consumer culture. Unspent loyalty points, worth an estimated $10 billion annually, suggest that even travel-adjacent rewards go underused as budget-conscious households deprioritize the trips those points are meant to fund. Deloitte’s full survey report is available on its website.
