Grounded Travel is Trending for Summer 2025 - Harvest Hosts' Travel Trends Survey Reveals Americans are Cutting Costs

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May 20, 2025, 08:51 ET

Summer vacation isn't cancelled, but it's taking a detour, as Americans explore different modes of travel, closer destinations, and low-frill nature to save

VAIL, Colo., May 20, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Harvest Hosts, a membership program offering RVers access to 9,000+ unique RV camping locations, today reveals its latest travel trends survey showing the current state of the summer vacation and how different generations are approaching travel amid economic uncertainty, air travel chaos and National Park staffing cuts. The survey sees a return to domestic vacations, nature and outdoor activities as consumers prepare to cut back, maximize their budgets and swap luxe experiences for cost-effective fun.

"During the pandemic, we saw a massive rise in outdoor activities. Now, as the travel industry braces for another chaotic season and potential economic downturn, we're seeing COVID-level upticks in demand for road travel and outdoor excursions," says Joel Holland, CEO of Harvest Hosts. "Americans are getting creative and looking to stretch their budgets this summer, from driving instead of flying to hiking instead of scuba diving, we can expect to see cost-cutting shifts in how people travel over the next few months."

Boots on the Ground – Literally, as Many Choose to Stay Stateside and Support Local Landmarks
With potential tariffs causing turmoil between the U.S. and other countries, Americans are concerned about backlash during their travels - deterring travel abroad this year. Instead, Americans are staying close to home to support their local businesses and explore national and state parks.

In fact, 59% of Americans are concerned about the perception of Americans while traveling abroad.
- Of those who have changed their air travel plans in the last six months, 74% cite concerns about perception of Americans.
The result? 55% say they are considering more domestic travel this year in comparison to past years.
- This holds even more true for younger generations with 64% (Gen Z) and 63% (Millennials) looking to travel domestic, while 78% of all Americans who have changed their air travel plans in the last six months are now looking to travel domestic instead.
Of the 44% of Americans planning to visit National Parks in the U.S. this summer, 53% are considering an RV rental.
With that, 71% say it's moderately important to extremely important to support American local businesses during their summer travels.
Regarding the status of National Parks, the top concerns of Americans who are booking campgrounds are:
- Overcrowding (41%), Safety (37%), Campground availability (25%), Trail maintenance (18%)
- Meanwhile 43% are moderately concerned to extremely concerned about the impact of staffing on National Parks.

Trading Wings for Wheels Amid Air Travel Chaos
So far, this year has seen a string of flight incidents, causing massive delays and cancellations in some cases. As confidence in air travel wanes, many are looking to the road as a more reliable means to get them from point A to point B.

Nearly one-third (32%) of Americans say flight delays / cancellations are their greatest travel annoyance.
About half of Gen Z (51%) and Millennials (45%) have changed or reconsidered air travel plans in the last six months – citing cost (37%) and safety (32%) concerns as the top reasons.
The micro trip is back, with over half (52%) of Americans planning to take multiple smaller, closer trips rather than one, big trip this year.
When it comes to road trips, 35% of Americans are willing to drive 11-30 miles out of their way to visit a lesser known, less crowded destination - skipping the overcrowded tourist traps.

Americans Stretch their Budgets and Shrink their Destination Amid Economic Uncertainty
With fears around a potential economic downturn, many Americans are preemptively scaling back their travel plans. They're tightening spending and looking for more cost-effective modes of travel or closer destinations.

They are grounding themselves, with 43% cutting travel costs by choosing to drive instead of fly.
Meanwhile, 39% are citing cost as the reason they are reconsidering air travel plans this summer.
What's more, 64% of Americans say they are changing their travel plans in some way due to economic uncertainty - with 27% opting for lower cost trips, 14% taking less trips and 12% deciding not to travel at all.
- Millennials are most concerned, with 72% altering plans due to the economy, whereas Boomers' experience has them less shaken by the economic outlook with only 48% altering plans.
Of the Americans taking multiple smaller, closer trips, 40% cite cost as the top reason for recent changes to their travel plans.
Still, signs show only moderate caution. In 2022, 51% of Americans were padding their travel budget anticipating inflation or higher costs post-pandemic - in comparison to 36% in 2025.

While Millennials Reel It In, Gen Z Is Getting In The Saddle
Looking to relieve stress and cut costs, it's not uncommon for people to turn to the great outdoors when the economy is down. Travelers across generations are heading outside and dabbling with new nature-related hobbies.

The survey found 60% are considering more travel outdoors compared to city travel this year.
- Millennials in particular are looking to get outside with nearly three-quarters (74%) booking nature destinations over city vacations.
- Across generations, hiking (36%) is the top travel experience, but while Millennials are jumping into fisherman core with 37% wanting to fish, Gen Z is staying the course with cowboy core as 27% trot to the stables for some horseback riding.
Compared to the last two years, Americans have an increased interest in camping (34%) and RVing (33%) – with Millennials and Gen Z in particular exploring camping (47%) and RVing (43%) at higher rates.
This increased interest is largely driven by cost / affordability and the desire to be in nature and travel outdoors. For Millennials with families, there is an additional benefit that this mode of travel is easier to take their kids (34%) or pets (25%) along.

Cutting the "Cord" on Vacation - No Kids, No Pets, No Responsibilities (No Problems)
People are looking to vacate - not just from their homes and jobs - but also their responsibilities, with most preferring vacations without kids or pets.

Results found that 44% of Americans are looking for child-free or adult-only travel experiences or accommodations.
Child-free travelers are most interested in the following experiences:
- Hiking - 37%
- Fishing - 32%
- Wellness retreat - 27%
- Spa day - 26%
- Cooking class - 20%
While pets are often thought to be popular travel companions, as it turns out Americans would rather have zero responsibility on vacation with 46% preferring not to take kids (under the age of 16) or pets on vacation with them.
- This is sharp contrast from the post-COVID puppy boom – when 52% of Americans were basing their travel plans on accommodating their pets.
- Grandparents are also tapping out, 74% of Boomers would not want to take kids (under the age of 16) or their pets on vacation.

With the pandemic still fresh in people's minds, many travelers are jumping back into the penny-pinching mindset as the economy dips, Grounding themselves for summer 2025. Consumers are largely price-driven, especially when it comes to travel, so any opportunity to cut costs is driving vacation season plans.

About Harvest Hosts  
Harvest Hosts, the largest private RV camping network in North America, provides a complete network of offerings to streamline the road travel and camping experience – with a collection of companies that includes Escapees RV Club, one of the oldest RV organizations bringing community events, education, discounts and more; Boondockers Welcome, a community of RVers allowing guests to stay overnight on their property for free; CampScanner, an alert service to book sold-out campgrounds; and Brit Stops, a membership connecting motorhome tourists in the UK and Ireland with small businesses for overnight stays. The company's mission is to advance the technology and accessibility of the RVing and campground industry, making traveling while supporting national parks, local small businesses and communities easier than ever.

To learn more, visit: www.harvesthosts.com, www.escapees.com, www.boondockerswelcome.com, www.campscanner.com, www.britstops.com; download the Harvest Hosts app on iOS here and Android here.