Americans Plan To Increase Summer Spending After Memorial Day Travel Records

After travel data set records around Memorial Day last month, Americans appear ready to set more records over the summer vacation and travel season, according to a new survey of about 2,500 U.S. adults from the Bank of Montreal (BMO) Real Financial Progress Index.

A quarter of Americans surveyed said they plan to spend more on travel this summer than they did last year, while just 13% said they expect to spend less. About 38% expect to spend roughly the same amount as last year, and another 24% say they aren’t planning to travel at all.

On the Friday before Memorial Day, 2.95 million Americans were screened at Transportation Security Administration (TSA) checkpoints across the country, the agency said, surpassing the record set the Sunday after Thanksgiving last November. In the weeks since, a number of other days have reached the top 10 busiest days ever for air travel, according to the TSA.

Americans Are Spending, But Don’t Feel Good About It

Between 13% and 20% of those surveyed said they plan to spend more this year on a number of other categories like home renovations, summer camp, large purchases like cars, or special events like graduations or baby showers.

Some of the planned higher spending may be due to higher discretionary income, but part may be attributable to higher prices, as 60% of those surveyed said they are more concerned about the cost of living than they were three months ago.

Just over half also said they are aware they are currently spending more than they should, and 54% said the amount of credit card debt they have is causing anxiety in their lives.