American demand for international trips drives 'travel momentum' and overall spending

cnbc.com:

Travel spending among American households continues to outpace its pre-pandemic levels, a trend underpinned by a zeal for international trips, according to new Bank of America research.

«A key part of travel momentum lies within vacationing abroad,» Taylor Bowley and Joe Wadford, economists at the Bank of America Institute, wrote in a note Wednesday.

Overall, travel spending is down slightly from 2023, yet it remains «much higher» than 2019 — up by 10.6% per household, they wrote, citing Bank of America credit and debit card data from January to mid-August.

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International travel is «one area of continued strength,» Bowley and Wadford said.

About 17% of Americans said in June that they intended to vacation abroad during the next six months, up from roughly 14% in 2018 and 2019, according to a recent Conference Board survey.  

«I do expect the demand to continue,» said Hayley Berg, lead economist at travel site Hopper.

Demand for international travel surged over the past two years as Covid-19-related health fears waned and countries began dropping their pandemic-era travel restrictions.

Americans spent zealously amid pent-up wanderlust and a stockpile of cash.

Falling prices for international airfare have helped underpin high demand this year, Berg said.

«Those lower prices are definitely going to drive some incremental demand for international [travel] more so than what we've see the last couple years,» she said.

For example, average round-trip fares to Europe — generally the most popular international destination for U.S. tourists — declined to