🏖️Budgets are tight. So many of us are going back to the drawing board with summer travel plans🚗
It’s back to the drawing board with upcoming summer travel plans for a wide swath of households in America that are feeling the strain of tighter budgets. Families — and solo travelers - this year are rethinking, redesigning and making sacrifices to still be able to financially commit to their annual warm weather getaways.
While 60% of Americans still plan to travel in the summer (up from 3% in 2025), the persistent overhang of inflation and other financial stresses on their wallets is forcing many of them to be even more intentional with how and where they plan to spend their mid-year vacations, according to the Consumer Pulse Summer 2026 Survey from KPMG.
The KPMG report (done in collaboration with consumer intelligence firm CivicScience) said people are making deliberate trade-offs in their everyday lives to still be able to accommodate cherished traditions, such as summer vacations.
Among them, consumers are cutting back on non-essential expenses, such as dining out, and shifting their self-care spending toward such everyday essentials as vitamins and skipping paid fitness classes.
They’re also exploring domestic travel destinations that are shorter and within driving distance from home versus international trips that require pricey airfares.
Both options are still costlier than a year ago as conflict in the Middle East pushes up gas prices at the pump and the cost of an airline ticket.
“Consumers are favoring shorter trips of one to three days over week-long stays, and nearly four in ten are anchoring their plans around a specific experience, such as a concert or sporting event,” Duleep Rodrigo, KPMG US Consumer & Retail Leader, told Bagable.com. “They’re also keeping trips closer to home: 69% plan to stay in the US, 62% plan to travel by car, and international travel is down to 21% from 28% in 2025.”
The Summer 2026 survey integrated two survey periods: KPMG’s survey of 1,544 US consumers from February 27 to March 18, 2026, and a CivicScience survey of 868-3,432 respondents from March 1 to March 23, 2026.
The survey captured responses across generational cohorts – Gen Z, millennials, Gen X, and baby boomers.
Among other money-saving attempts to ensure they can still go ahead with summer travel, the report said 27% of consumers have turned to AI to better plan trips (up from 14% two years ago) and 38% of travelers are prioritizing staying with friends or family this year.
“When every dollar has to work harder, consumers are turning to AI to make sense of their options – and by the time they reach a hotel or airline, the shortlist is already set,” Braden Mark, KPMG US Partner (Travel, Leisure and Hospitality) said in the report.
The bottom line on summer travel in a time of spending restraint: "We're seeing a consumer who has done their homework. They know exactly what they want, whether that is a sporting event, concert, or vacation, and they're making trade-offs in their daily lives to make that a reality," said Rodrigo. "Even with higher gas prices, consumers are determined to keep their travel plans intact while demanding more value for every dollar they spend.”
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