Deloitte: While Holiday Travel Intent Rises, Planned Spending Hits Turbulence

More Americans plan to travel this holiday season than in the past five years, yet rising financial concerns are likely to temper overall spending and market momentum.

NEW YORK, Nov. 12, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- 

Key takeaways

• Holiday travel intent continues to rise, but budgets are not following suit: More than half (54%) of survey respondents intend to travel between Thanksgiving and mid-January with an average budget of $2,334, which is down 18% from 2024.
• Nearly 1 in 5 high-income travelers surveyed say they are worse off financially than a year ago, leading to a significant cut in travel plans.
• While Gen Z and millennials are expected to make up half of the holiday traveling public for the first time, surveyed Gen Z travelers plan to reduce their holiday budgets significantly, by 31% year-over-year.
• Generative AI (GenAI) use for travel planning is expected to surge to 24% this season among respondents, triple the rate from just two years ago.

Why this matters 
For the past five years, Deloitte's annual Holiday Travel Survey has provided valuable insights into Americans' travel intentions and what these trends mean for the industry at large. The "2025 Holiday Travel Survey" findings highlight that although more Americans may plan to travel this year between Thanksgiving and mid-January, financial concerns could be casting a shadow over the season, with many travelers expected to scale back on the number of trips, trip duration and their overall travel spending. These shifts could have important implications for travel providers, hospitality businesses, and the broader tourism sector as they plan for the months ahead.

Deloitte's "2025 Holiday Travel Survey" is based on a survey of 3,896 Americans fielded between Sept. 26 and Oct. 3, 2025. Of these, 2,099 respondents who are planning to travel between Thanksgiving and mid-January qualified as holiday travelers.

Holiday travel intent — and frugality — take off 
While more survey respondents plan to travel this holiday season, 31% say their financial situation is worse than a year ago, up from 26% in 2024. As a result, travelers across the board are expected to be more cost conscious. Those respondents who plan to travel expect to take 1.83 trips this season compared to 2.14 in 2024, and spend an average of $2,334, which is down 18% year-over-year.

• More than half of Americans surveyed (54%) plan to travel over the holidays, up 5 percentage points from 2024. This year's growth is driven more by those who plan to stay with friends and family than by those planning to stay in paid lodging.
• High-income survey respondents (those making $100,000 or more per year) are expected to pull back the most: They plan to reduce their number of trips from 2.5 to 1.9, and 16% plan to significantly decrease their longest-trip budgets, up from 11% in 2024. Additionally, high-income travelers surveyed who feel worse about their finances are planning on cutting their in-destination spend (37%) or opting for less luxurious lodging (35%).
• All generations surveyed expect to cut back on holiday travel spending, except for Boomers who plan to increase their travel spend by 4% year-over-year. While Gen Z and millennials are expected to make up half of the traveling public for the first time this holiday season, surveyed Gen Z travelers plan to reduce their holiday budgets the most, down 31% year-over-year. Similar spending cuts were observed from Gen Z in holiday retail spending plans in Deloitte's "2025 Holiday Retail Survey."
• The number of surveyed travelers who plan to spend more this holiday season is down 9 percentage points year-over-year to 19%. Of those planning to spend more, 1 in 5 say it is because they have not taken a big trip recently and have more money to spend, while twice as many (38%) say they cannot afford to travel.
• More survey respondents are downgrading their trips and hesitant to spend on upgrades. Among travelers planning to reduce their budgets, they say they'll cut back on in-destination spend (28% versus 22% in 2024) and drive instead of fly (29% versus 21% in 2024). Among those planning to spend more this season, splurging on more luxurious lodging is down the most (36% versus 44% in 2024).
• Nearly half (44%) of employed travelers responding to the survey intend to work, at least partially, on their longest trip of the holiday season, compared to 49% last year. This group of "laptop luggers" plan to take more trips (2.3 trips) and spend more ($3,283 for their longest trip). One in 3 laptop luggers say their longest holiday trip will last at least seven nights.

Tighter wallets could impact travel providers 
Travel providers may see a weaker holiday season as surveyed Americans become more mindful of what they pack into their itineraries.

• Fewer surveyed travelers intend to catch flights this holiday season: 47% of travelers will take a flight on their longest trip of the season, down from 55% in 2024.
• Respondents from all income levels plan to fly less with high-income earners pulling back the most — 53% plan to take a domestic flight at some point during the season, down from 63% last year. International travel is expected to increase slightly, among low-income earners (10% versus 6% in 2024).
• Loyalty still flies with air travelers: When it comes to purchasing airfare, 37% of air travelers surveyed plan to purchase the lowest-price ticket on their preferred airline.
• With tighter budgets, more Americans may choose road trips over flights. More than half (57%) of surveyed travelers planning to drive instead of fly on their longest trip are doing so to save money, up from 47% in 2024.
• Middle and high-income respondents plan to pull back on hotel stays, while low-income earners plan to increase their hotel stays slightly, up 3 percentage points year-over-year.
• For many surveyed hotel travelers, rates reign supreme (63% rank it in the top three attributes) in their hotel selection, followed by customer service levels (29%) and loyalty programs (27%).
• Surveyed travelers plan to cut back on tours and activities year-over-year, with participation in ticketed or public events expected to decline 9 percentage points on Americans' longest trips, guided day trips down 8 percentage points, and attractions down 7 percentage points.

Key quote                 
"Many Americans are planning fewer flights and hotel stays, with tighter wallets in tow. Although our survey found that more consumers plan to travel to be with loved ones, they are hesitant to spend on extending and upgrading their trips. This is expected to leave many travel providers bracing for a softer winter. But those who lean into loyalty and shifting preferences, particularly among younger generations, could be better positioned to weather the journey ahead."

—     Kate Ferrara, vice chair and U.S. transportation, hospitality and services sector leader, Deloitte

Travelers tap GenAI as their digital travel agent  
The use of GenAI for holiday travel planning is surging among survey respondents, as more travelers leverage the technology for activity recommendations, destination ideas, and accommodation options that match their tastes and budgets.

• Among respondents, GenAI adoption in travel planning is expected to reach 24% this holiday season, up from 16% in 2024 and 8% in 2023. All surveyed generations are increasing their use of GenAI technology, particularly millennials (31%) and Gen Z (30%) travelers.
• This holiday season, respondents plan to use GenAI the most to research activities and attractions (67% of those using GenAI for trip planning), followed by destinations (56%) and accommodations (54%).
• While only 24% of GenAI-using travelers surveyed plan to use GenAI for restaurant recommendations, the restaurant sector sees this research translate to actual visits the most (55%), compared to conversion on research related to flights (46%) and accommodations (45%).
• For their longest holiday trip, surveyed travelers prefer to book via a brand's direct channel across travel products including flights, hotels and private rentals.

Holiday travelers make room for luxury
Even amid softening travel spend intentions, those surveyed appear to be finding room for luxury in their holiday journeys.

• About 1 in 4 respondents (26%) qualify as luxury travelers, meaning they have stayed at a property they consider luxurious in the past two years and have stayed at a hotel with a nightly rate of $400 or more during at least two leisure trips in 2025.
• Luxury is not one-size-fits-all: Among luxury travelers surveyed, Gen Z travelers (49%) link luxury to the availability and quality of amenities, millennials (19%) (who travel with children more than others) associate it with on-property dining, and boomers (31%) associate it with extraordinary locations.
• Surveyed luxury travelers are also nearly twice as likely as others to book first-class air tickets, and when choosing a hotel, they give much greater weight to customer service and loyalty memberships.
• Luxury travelers associate high service levels (42%) and brand name (20%) with a luxury hotel more than other respondents.

Key quote
"Despite economic uncertainty, holiday travelers appear to be plugged-in and ready to roam. More surveyed travelers are embracing AI tools to seamlessly craft personalized adventures. What's more, respondents are willing to splurge on a luxurious experience. Travel providers who focus on innovation and engaging consumers across generations and income levels will likely have the opportunity to capture attention from those planning more travel in the new year."

—     Eileen Crowley, U.S. transportation, hospitality and services leader, Deloitte

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SOURCE Deloitte