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Multigenerational travel and increased consumer confidence have led families to embrace travel.
Varsha Arora
Family travel continues to be the largest portion of leisure travel in the United States, with more families choosing vacations that create shared experiences and lasting memories. Skift Research takes a closer look at the trends driving this important segment in its latest report, U.S. Travel Trends Q2 2024: Insights on Family Travel.
In the second quarter of 2024, 46% of survey respondents say they are “very likely” to take a family vacation, and 31% are interested in multigenerational travel that includes parents, in-laws, and children. I showed it.
Beyond family travel, this report highlights broader trends impacting the U.S. travel industry. Direct bookings remain dominant, accounting for a share of 55% to 61% from 2023 to mid-2024, peaking in December 2023, and decreasing slightly to 52% by June 2024. Third-party bookings have remained relatively stable with a modest increase of 33 bookings. This steady increase suggests that while direct bookings are in the lead, third-party platforms are slowly gaining traction.
The report also highlights economic optimism among travelers, with 55% of respondents expecting economic conditions to improve in the coming months. This increased confidence is likely to drive further growth in both family travel and general leisure travel for the remainder of 2024.
Download the full report to uncover more insights and stay ahead of the trends shaping family travel and U.S. travel.
What you can learn from this report
Key trends and behaviors shaping family travel in Q2 2024 How travelers are booking Popular destinations and experiences travelers are choosing Insights into spending patterns and price trends The growing importance of green travel choices Traveler financial outlook and impact on future travel
About these reports
This is the latest in a series of reports and data products published by Skift Research to analyze the travel industry’s biggest trends. Tap into the opinions and insights of our experienced network of staff and contributors. Each report requires more than 200 hours of desk research, data collection, and analysis.
When you subscribe to Skift Research, you get access to an entire vault of reports conducted on a variety of topics, from technology to marketing strategy to details on major travel brands. You’ll also have access to data from our proprietary Skift Travel Health Index and Skift Travel 200 stock index, as well as regular traveler surveys.