The State of the American Traveler in April 2025

Anxiety continues to grow amongst American travel consumers, with more than half of travelers now expecting an economic recession in the near future.  This angst is driving a decrease in anticipated travel volume as well as adjustments to trip decisions and behaviors. Price sensitivity, as well as positive reputation, will be particularly critical in marketing travel right now.  

Economic Concerns Impacting Travel Plans & Trip Volume

Even with the barrage of economic news, American travelers' general assessment of their financial situation has remained consistent, with 32.5% feeling better off today relative to a year ago. Those feeling worse off relative to a year ago have grown by less than 2-points thus far, to 24.9%.  Nevertheless, American travelers’ anxiety continues to grow. More than half of travelers (52.1%) now expect an economic recession within the next six months, shooting up more than 10-points in the past month alone. And while 51.5% of American travelers started 2025 with optimism that their financial situation would improve in the next year, that has dropped to 46.6%. This apprehension has likely led to a reduction in the number of planned leisure trips, with an average of 3.8 trips expected in the next twelve months, down from 4.0 reported last month. The percent of American travelers with trip plans dropped 2-points since last month to 90.4%. Expected 12-month travel budgets—although strong—have dropped to an average of $5,693, a 7-month low.  Confidence in leisure travel spending dropped back to 34.2% who consider the present a good time to spend on travel. 

In terms of positive sentiment, nearly 87% of American travelers still register high levels of excitement for travel in the next year and travelers' intent to prioritize travel in their near-term budgets remains at 59.3%—statistically identical to 1-year ago.  Yet, American travelers are indeed shifting their travel plans due to financial apprehension. When asked if concerns about the economy led them to change their thinking about travel or travel plans for the next 6 months, 68.6% said they had made at least one adjustment, with the most common being choosing more affordable destinations (27.1%), using rewards programs to save money (25.9%), traveling less frequently (24.2%), and reducing spending on activities (23.2%). Interestingly, while 46.8% of American travelers overall still say they will be taking an international trip in the next year, 14.2% said they will be foregoing international travel for domestic travel in response to economic conditions. Fortunately, just 9.0% said they will be canceling trips all together. 

Marketing Travel Right Now will be Particularly Reliant on Price Sensitivity—Food, Authenticity, Reputation also Remain Important 

This month, Future Partners employed the “red flag/green flag” concept to a series of questions to understand positive and negative triggers about travel right now.  Here’s what we found:

Price Sensitivity and Travel Decisions
Travelers are highly sensitive to price changes, particularly in hotel rates. A nightly rate $50 higher than expected is a red flag for 50.6% of travelers, while a nightly rate $100 more than expected increases the red flag rate to 65.0% and doubles the “major red flag” sentiment. Similarly, a $50 higher than anticipated flight cost is a red flag for 38.2% of travelers. The inability to use hotel rewards is a red flag to about 1-in-3 travelers.

Reputation and Word-of-Mouth 
Positive word-of-mouth may be more impactful than negative. Seeing negative opinions about destinations on review sites is a red flag to 62.8% of travelers; conversely, seeing positive reviews about a destination are a green flag to 69.2%. Similarly, 50.9% say if a trusted friend tells them a destination is "over-rated,” this is a red flag; however, 74.6% say it’s a green flag if a trusted friend tells them that they would love a destination. (Note: see chart below). Interestingly, the same doesn’t quite hold true when it comes to airport reputation: 63.0% consider an airport with a bed reputation a red flag while just 48.8% consider it a green flag if an airport has an excellent reputation.

Authenticity
Destinations described as hidden gems are highly appealing, with 73.1% of travelers viewing such a descriptor as a green flag. Along this line, travelers prefer authentic promotional photos of destinations, with 60.5% saying AI-generated images of a destination are a red flag and 67.6% saying heavily edited photos are a red flag. 

Destination Management  
Being known for crowds and/or anti-tourism sentiment is potentially damaging. Nearly 70% say it's a red flag if they hear local residents might have anti-tourism feelings and 62.1% say it's a red flag if a place seems like it's busy when they want to travel. Lack of air service can also be a deterrent. 48.1% say it’s a red flag if there are no or too few direct flights to a destination. If a destination was recently impacted by a natural disaster, this is seen as a red flag to 68.1% of travelers. 

Food
Destinations known for their cutting-edge food scenes get green-flagged by 54.1% of travelers. Additionally, nearly half of travelers give a green-flag to destinations which have a variety of Michelin-starred restaurants. Conversely, 40.9% say it's a red flag if the signature cuisine of the destination is not to their liking. 

Family Travel
For family travelers, the opinions of their children are important, with 57.6% considering destinations that their kids wouldn't be excited about as a red flag. Meanwhile, destinations where children would put their screens down are seen as a green flag to 69.3% of these travelers. 

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