Summary
Wealthier households, earning over $100,000, are dominating holiday travel this year, making up 45% of travelers and over half of paid lodging customers, according to Deloitte.
Rising costs, including airfare and luxury accommodations, have priced out lower-income households, whose travel participation has declined.
Affluent travelers are driving demand for premium experiences, with high-end destinations seeing significant price increases. Meanwhile, budget-conscious travelers are cutting costs by staying with family or using credit to fund trips.
Inflation continues to strain travel budgets across income levels, with 29% of travelers expecting to take on debt.
I don’t know shit about taxes in the US, but a solid guess would be that 45% is actually proportional to the amount of households making 6 figures post-taxes.
We don’t generally measure post-tax (or “take-home”) income in economics discussions. Gross income is the preferred measure because it allows for a more like:like comparison.