The Annual Travel Expenditure of Americans Traveling Abroad

In 2016, the National Travel and Tourism Office of the US released stats showing that American nationals traveling abroad increased in number by 8% year-on-year in 2017 to 66,960,943 from 61,783,913. This growth has continued unabated and so has been the amount these Americans spend out of the country each year.Americans travelling the world. Image credit Mobility International USA

The overall travel budget for Americans going abroad has since risen to slightly more than US$ 100 billion, reports Dailystoke.com. Most Americans, however, visit locations close to home. According to the NTTO figures, about 38 million Americans, which is half of the number that traveled abroad in 2017 visited destinations in Mexico and Canada.

Breakdown of the Costs

According to the reported figures, the costs of vacations is a paltry 2% of the annual budget of an American household. These numbers are, however, debatable since only a small proportion of households file accordingly. The pleasure trips that rake the bills, for instance,cost each home about US$ 4,700 per year.

Ready to see the world. Image credit The Baghdad Post

Decent Food and Drinks

An American will spend about US$ 35 on food daily while on a trip abroad. More than 90% of American tourists do eat out while vacationing abroad. Almost the entire food budget, as such, goes to the restaurants.

Most Americans treat leisure trips abroad as a time to kick back and binge drink. Those that drinkspend about US$ 400 on the wine, liquor, and beer they consume over a 4-day vacation.

Transportation Costs

On average, airfares from the US take a considerable chunk of the travel budget. Though the average airfares from the US dropped by 5% to about US$ 1500, it still is the most significant portion of the travel abroad budget for Americans.

The average cost of airfare and other in-destination transportation for an individual spending a fortnight abroad was US$ 1,755 in 2017. These costs often are lower for families that vacation together since the prices of other modes of transport such as taxis may be shared.

Lodging

The cost of a decent night’s sleep while touring abroad sets an average American back about US$141. Overall, lodging related costs amount to about 25% of the travel budget for an American traveling out of the country. Considering that about 60% of Americans that fly out of the country make their arrangements, or rather, pay for their lodging, about US$ 15 billion goes towards procuring passably adequate sleep while in foreign lands.

Most tourists, however, are becoming canny about the costs, especially in the face of dwindling earnings and harsh economic times. Where applicable, individuals use recreational vehicles, longer-term rental accommodations and campsites to cut on the cost.

Entertainment

Vacations are a great time to experience exotic cultures. Individuals spend about 12% of their travel budget on average on amusement, which translates to about US$ 75 per day during the course of the vacation.

Americans are a resilient lot. They still show their love for travel and adventure even in the face of the rising cost of basics such as housing, education, and healthcare. If the trend goes on, the discretionary budget for travel will remain as it is and more of these jovial folks will keep traveling abroad.

This article does not necessarily reflect the opinions of the editors or management of EconoTimes.