Americans use vacation days more than ever
Now more than ever, Americans are claiming their vacation days and making time to travel a priority
According to Allianz Partners USA’s 14th Annual Vacation Confidence Index, a majority of Americans have taken a vacation in the last year, marking a significant milestone in the survey’s decade-plus-long history.
Defining a vacation as leisure travel of at least a week to a destination 100 miles or more away from home, the survey revealed that 57 per cent of Americans have taken a vacation in the last year. Up from 44 per cent last year, 2022 marks the highest percentage of Americans who reported travelling in the last year since 2009, when the survey was first conducted. Of the respondents who have travelled in the last year, two in 10 (22 per cent) travelled in the three months leading up to the survey, with the 18–34-year-old demographic (29 per cent) leading this trend.
Signifying a new norm of Americans prioritising vacationing, Allianz’s survey also found that three-quarters of Americans (74 per cent) consider an annual vacation important, a huge leap from 60 per cent in 2019 and one point higher than last year. Mirroring this trend, confidence in taking a vacation this year also has never been higher, with 65 per cent of Americans expressing positive intentions to vacation, up two points from last year and a stunning 13 points over the highest prior year surveyed (52 per cent in 2014).
Vacation deficit is nearing an all-time low
Allianz Partners USA also defined a ‘vacation deficit’ as the percentage of Americans who say an annual vacation is important to them but are not confident they will take one this year. In 2022, the percentage of Americans who are experiencing a vacation deficit returns to 19 per cent compared to 44 per cent in 2020 during the height of the pandemic. With more Americans back to travelling, and with vacation intentions remaining strong, the vacation deficit is nearing an all-time low.
Looking at those who have been waiting longer to travel (43 per cent of Americans have not taken a vacation in a year or more, down 13 points from last year), older Americans ages 55+ are demonstrating more hesitancy (55 per cent) than their younger counterparts (41 per cent for ages 35-54 and 31 per cent for ages 18-34), as are lower-income Americans (56 per cent of those making less than $50,000/year versus 34 per cent who make more than $100,000).
“Our latest Vacation Confidence Index proves that taking an annual vacation has never been more important to Americans, and we’re seeing record levels of confidence that they’ll travel between now and the end of the year,” said Daniel Durazo, Director of External Communications at Allianz Partners USA. “Instead of banking those PTO days, Americans are viewing their vacation time as a much-needed getaway to support their mental health.”
The Vacation Confidence Index has been conducted each summer since 2009 by national polling firm Ipsos Public Affairs on behalf of Allianz Partners USA.