Why Americans Are Delaying Their Summer Vacation Plans This Year

American citizens are curtailing their summer travel plans, whether it involves flights or road trips, and are waiting to book only if prices are favorable. This trend reflects a slowdown in the tourism industry. Hotel bookings for summer are either reduced or unchanged compared to last year, and airline bookings also show a decline despite ticket prices dropping due to economic concerns cutting into travel spending. Travel companies like Delta Air Lines, Marriott International, and online travel agency Booking Holdings have withdrawn or revised their 2025 annual forecasts as demand decreases in the U.S. Airbnb notes the shrinking booking window as consumers adopt a ‘wait-and-see’ approach, making reservations closer to their travel dates, limiting company predictions for the second half of the year. In early April, Delta stated that predicting for the entire year was premature given macroeconomic uncertainty. Meanwhile, United Airlines estimates a significant possibility of reduced bookings. ‘It’s very clear that consumers are waiting to make decisions, even for summer,’ said Robert Jordan, Southwest Airlines’ chief financial officer at the annual Bernstein Strategic Decisions Conference in late May. Adding that demand was steady but lower than expected in January. According to Flighthub, an online travel agency, summer bookings from the U.S. are down by 10% compared to the same period last year, despite cheaper flight prices. On average, summer ticket prices dropped by 7%, with long-haul flights such as to Sydney being 23% cheaper than exactly a year ago, according to Kayak. Summer hotel bookings in major American cities remain unchanged or decreased compared to a year earlier, according to CoStar data. Room rates are expected to rise by nearly 1.3% in 2025 from a 1.8% increase in 2024. ‘Trips are clearly under pressure because people don’t feel as comfortable as they once did,’ explains Michael Chanwick, chief financial officer of Fiscal Wisdom Wealth Management. Travelers find more deals, like free third nights for two-night stays, as hosts aim to fill rooms, says Jan Freitag of CoStar Group. The weakening dollar has increased the cost of overseas vacations. In March, American travelers surveyed by Deloitte planned to increase their summer vacation budget by 13%. In April, Deloitte found that Americans planned to spend about the same amount as last year. The dollar has weakened by about 10% since mid-January when it was at its highest level in over two years. Clients of Ensuite Collection, a luxury travel company in Dallas, who booked last year for large European trips, may stay in the U.S. or go to closer destinations like Canada and the Caribbean this year. ‘We might travel abroad later in the summer. If we do, it will be last-minute if we find cheaper flights,’ says 28-year-old Raichel Campeta, an actor and fitness instructor in New Jersey. For now, her only summer plan is Martha’s Vineyard in neighboring Massachusetts.