Americans Tightening Wallets For Summer Vacations

ROCKVILLE, MD. — The average American is planning to spend 5.3 percent less this year on summer vacations. According to the annual Summer Vacation Survey conducted by Myvesta, a nonprofit consumer education organization, the average summer vacation will cost $2,252 this year, down from $2,378 in 2003.

“While we have seen a slight rebound in our economy over the past few months, there hasn’t been a big enough surge to give people the confidence to spend more on their summer getaways,” said Pam Rhode, president of Myvesta. “People who are taking trips are looking for more value and a lower price tag.”

Of those taking a vacation, 77.8 percent plan on using a credit card to pay for all, or part of their trip and 29.3 percent plan on taking three or more months to pay for their vacation charges. If the average vacation cost of $2,252 is placed on a credit card and only the minimum payment is made, it will take almost 33 years to pay off the balance and cost an additional $5,687 in interest payments. That calculation assumes an 18 percent interest rate and a monthly minimum payment of two percent.

“Everyone needs a break from time to time, and it can be very tempting to pull out the plastic to finance a vacation,” Ms Rhode said. “But one week of fun in the sun isn’t worth 30 years of debt payments.”

Of those surveyed, 41 percent plan on taking a trip this summer, down from 48.5 percent in 2003. 53.6 percent of Americans said they were not taking a summer vacation while 5.4 percent are undecided.

People in the West plan to spend the most on their summer vacations with an average of $2,566. Northeast residents came in a close second with an average of $2,405. Those in the South plan on spending $2,199 and people in the Midwest plan on spending $1,802.

The Myvesta Summer Vacation Survey was conducted May 14–16 in a random telephone survey of 1,000 adult Americans.