The State of the American Traveler in February 2025—Cooling Travel Sentiment, TikTok Stable, the Importance of Romance

IMPORTANT: These findings are brought to you from our independent research, which is not sponsored, conducted, or influenced by any advertising or marketing agency. The key findings presented below represent data from over 4,000 American travelers collected in January 2025.

American Travelers Exhibiting Caution Around Spending

• Although American travelers’ optimism about their personal financial outlook remains strong (51.5% expect to be better off financially in the next year) and expectations of an impending economic recession remain at at post-pandemic lows (35.6%), after a year-long period of stability tracking above 30 percent, for the second time in three months, the percentage of American travelers who said that they are better off financially now compared to the year prior fell below 30 percent (29.2%).
• This decline in current financial sentiment among American travelers is mirrored in the downward trend in the percentage who feel that the present is a good time to spend on travel—at 32.5 percent this month, a -4.4-point decrease from last month. Similarly, the share of American travelers who said travel will be a high budget priority for them in the next three months saw a -3.9-point dip from last month (to 54.3% from 58.2%). Additionally, after steadily trending upward over the past 6 months, the average expected annual leisure travel budget dropped over 15 percent from $5,898 to $4,973 since last month. Personal financial reasons and the overall costs of travel as reasons Americans cite as what’s deterring them from traveling are at 12-month highs. Americans’ excitement for travel levels fell to an average 8.1 on a 0-10 scale, a 7-month low. These combined metrics indicate a growing sense of caution among American travelers.

Travel Rates and What’s Ahead

• Looking at recent travel volume, 50.7 percent of American travelers reported taking an overnight trip specifically to visit friends or relatives in the past month (a 3-year high), while 47.6 took an overnight trip for leisure.
• Currently, 83.9 percent of American travelers have existing trip plans for the year (note: this is down from 89% in April 2023). In terms of when these trips will occur, 17.5 percent reported February trip plans, 23.2 percent have trip plans for March, and 23.9 percent have plans for April. Summer is tracking well with 26.0% reporting June trip plans, 24.4 percent July trip plans and 22.0 percent August trip plans. One in three (32.2%) say they have trip plans post-summer. Overall, American travelers expect to take a mean of 3.7 leisure trips in 2025. Interestingly, expected trip planning windows for a week-long vacation dropped from 11.7 weeks out to 10.4.

The State of TikTok in America

With the recent uncertainty surrounding TikTok in the U.S., Future Partners is continuing to monitor American travelers’ propensity to use the app for travel inspiration. This most recent wave of The State of the American Traveler survey was fielded between January 16-20, overlapping with the initial TikTok ban and the subsequent suspension of the ban. As of January, 14.2 percent of American travelers said they would be receptive to destination marketing on TikTok, which is stable relative to the past year. TikTok has historically been a top travel inspiration resource for Gen Z (41.5% cite it as a source they would be most receptive to travel marketing), and over a quarter of Millennial travelers also feel the app is ideal for travel inspiration. As such, understanding if or how the precariousness of TikTok’s availability in the U.S. – and the related political discourse – will impact how younger travelers make travel decisions will be essential for travel marketers.

Romance and Other Ways Travel Fosters Human Connection

As Americans celebrate the Valentine’s holiday this month, in this latest edition of The State of the American Traveler we explored how travel facilitates romance and human connection. One in ten (10.9%) say they actually plan to take a trip specifically for Valentine’s Day in 2025, with younger travelers more likely to have such plans (25.1% of Gen Z will travel for the holiday). When it comes to the overall role romance plays in travel inspiration, nearly 38 percent of American travelers say romance is an important or very important element. When asked if they believe that certain destinations are naturally more romantic than others, over 70 percent said that yes, they think some destinations are just more romantic, while 21.0 percent said it depends more on the activities and experiences, rather than at the destination level. In terms of what factors make a destination feel romantic, scenic beauty topped the list with more than half (52.5%) of American travelers agreeing that this attribute is key to a romantic travel destination. This was followed by romantic activities (46.0%), such as sunset cruises or intimate dining, and a private, peaceful atmosphere (37.4%). There was also some overlap between romance and luxury, with one-quarter (25.8%) of American travelers saying that luxury accommodations contribute to creating a romantic feeling in a destination. When it comes to how travel promotes connection, 63.2 percent feel their travel experiences improved the quality of their personal relationships. Nearly 62 percent say the social aspect of travel significantly contributes to their overall trip satisfaction. Over a third of American travelers (34.3%) are thus likely to use social media or apps to connect with other travelers or locals before, during, or after their trip.

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