A summer surge of international travelers is underway, with Allianz Partners projecting a 55% increase in the number of Americans traveling to Europe, with Italian destinations at the top of the list of European destinations.
Research firm Destination Analysts team examined the profiles of U.S. travelers who say they are very likely to travel outside of the U.S. in the next 12 months. “What we found was a mix of the expected and the unexpected,” the firm said.
Americans traveling internationally are planning to spend more than double the amount reported by total American travelers when it comes to leisure travel in the next year ($8,444 vs. $4,082). They also are more inclined to spend more on travel compared to a year ago, with more than half (53.2%) expecting to spend more on leisure travel this year, compared to 33.2% of total American travelers.
American international travelers on average have 20 days available for leisure travel this year and their average personal travel budget is $8,444. In a Destination Analysts study last month, they reported an average household income of $109,910 compared to the $82,872 reported by total American travelers. On average, American international travelers have 20.2 days available for vacation in the next year, 4.3 days more than the typical American traveler. Furthermore, 29.8 percent reported to having more than 30 days available for leisure travel.
The data also showed that Americans traveling internationally are more likely to be married, have completed a graduate degree, and be employed full-time, indicating a higher level of overall security in terms of finances in lifestyle.
Financially, their optimism about their personal finances runs high. American international travelers are more likely than the average American traveler to say they are better off financially now compared to a year ago (41.4% vs. 29.1%), and they also have a sunnier prediction about their household finances one year from now, with 51.4 percent saying they expect to be better off (vs. 46.3% of the average American traveler).
This optimism spills over into their attitudes toward leisure travel spending; over half (55.6%) say that now is a good time to spend on travel, while only 30.7 percent of total American travelers felt the same.
