Summer Travel Too Expensive For One Quarter Of Americans
A new survey says that about 25% of U.S. adults do not plan to travel on vacation this summer, because most cannot afford the expense. (AP Photo/Wayne Parry)
Copyright 2014 AP. All rights reserved.
About one quarter of adult Americans will not travel on vacation this summer, a new survey reveals.
Most who don't plan to travel say they cannot afford the expense, according to the survey by financial-comparison website Bankrate. The survey, conducted online March 10-12, sampled 2,238 U.S. adults, and the results, Bankrate says, are representative of all American adults.
Less than half of U.S. adults — 46% — plan to travel this summer; 24% are not planning any kind of vacation; 23% are not yet sure of their summer vacation plans, and 10% are planning a staycation. (The results exceed 100%, because some survey respondents gave multiple responses.)
Among non-travelers, 65% say it is because they cannot afford to travel right now. Nearly 7 of every 10 travelers who can't afford to travel right now say everyday life is too expensive, and 6 of every 10 who can't afford to travel right now say travel costs are too expensive.
Millennials (ages 29-44) were the most likely to say they are not planning to travel this summer, because they cannot afford it. Baby boomers (ages 61-79) were the second most-likely generational group to say they do not plan to travel this summer.
Other reasons for opting out of summer travel this year include not being interested in traveling for a vacation, being unable to take time off work and finding it too much of a hassle. Fifteen percent of non-travelers say they are worried about airline safety, while another 15% say it is because of their health or age.
Of those planning to travel this summer, 29% say they will take on debt as a result. This includes 23% who say they will pay with a credit card over time, 5% who plan to use buy-now-pay-later services, 4% who will borrow from family or friends and 2% who will take out a personal loan.
Younger generations are more likely to go into debt for travel, with 34% of millennial and 31% of Gen Z (ages 18-28) travelers planning to take on debt, compared to 29% of Gen X (ages 45-60) and 22% of baby boomer travelers.
"The average credit card charges about 20%, so going into debt is an expensive proposition, especially since Americans are sitting on a record $1.2 trillion in credit card debt,' says Bankrate senior analyst Ted Rossman. 'But don't let the summer pass you by without having any fun. To save money on a vacation, consider putting rewards points and miles to use. You can also sign up for a new credit card to earn a welcome bonus that can fund a free or discounted trip. A staycation can be a fun fallback option."
Rossman provides a few other cost-saving tips.
"When planning summer travel, it's generally advised to book sooner rather than later,' he says. 'Think about visiting a destination during its shoulder season or offseason. Take an early flight, a late flight, a connecting flight or a midweek flight. It's going to be expensive if you travel at the most convenient times on the most desirable days to the most popular destinations."
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Mission trips are an evangelical rite of passage for US teens – but why?
As tourists head to airports this summer, American travelers are likely to see groups of young people in matching T-shirts awaiting flights to Latin America or further afield. Their T-shirts sport biblical verses or phrases like 'Here I am, send me' or 'Called to serve,' and the teens may gather for prayer before boarding. These young people are heading off to be short-term missionaries: an experience that has become a rite of passage in some corners of Protestant Christianity as overseas travel has become more affordable for Americans. According to some estimates, as many as 2 million youth and adults per year participated in Christian mission trips before the pandemic, including overseas trips and trips to poor communities at home. While it is difficult to confirm these numbers, mission trips are now especially commonplace within evangelical churches, with larger and more affluent churches offering multiple trips throughout the year. Some congregations plan their mission trips in-house. Others enlist the services of mission companies with names like World Race, He Said Go and World Gospel Mission. Typically, these companies combine humanitarian service, development projects and faith. They promise participants adventure, spiritual growth and an opportunity to serve as Jesus' hands and feet in the world. I have been studying short-term missionaries for the past six years. I have interviewed dozens of pastors, trip leaders and young missionaries, and I have had the opportunity to participate in a mission trip in Central America. Through this research, I have learned about why so many young Christians want to go on mission trips and have been struck by their desire to 'serve.' Yet, as a geographer, I am concerned by their lack of knowledge about the people and places they visit. The missionary impulse within Christianity comes from the Great Commission, a Gospel verse in which Jesus instructs his disciples 'to go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.' The spirit of evangelism thrived among European and American Christians in the 19th century, fueled by frontier expansion and colonization. Protestant missionaries spread throughout Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Pacific, seeking to win souls for Christ. Also important, in many of these men's and women's eyes, was something often referred to as the 'white man's burden': the imperialist idea that they had a duty to introduce Western civilization to supposedly 'backward' people. Missionaries had mixed success in converting so-called natives to Christianity. But they left lasting impacts through the many institutions they established around the world, including schools, universities and hospitals. Contemporary missionaries are the inheritors of these earlier waves. Yet they also have some distinctive characteristics. Historically, mission work was a lifelong calling and profession, one that often meant never coming home. Career missionaries continue to have a role in missions today, sometimes financially supported by denominational organizations like the Southern Baptist Convention's International Missions Board or by donations from individual churches. But the movement is now dominated by short-termers who are in the 'mission field' for a couple of weeks or months. Some trips go to destinations where Christians are a minority, such as the Middle East, India or Southeast Asia. More commonly, they take place in countries with a sizable Christian population and partner with local evangelical organizations and churches 'planted' by long-term missionaries. Trip organizers I interviewed emphasized that the mission teams are there to serve and to take direction from their local partners. Another distinctive feature of short-term missions is their approach to faith. Rather than push 'conversion' as a goal, today's mission leaders emphasize 'relationship building' in hopes that connections will gradually lead people closer to Christian beliefs. Trips are oriented not just around the spiritual transformation of the local community but also the spiritual transformation of missionaries themselves. Pastors and organizers say that trips are meant to teach young American Christians what it means to live as a disciple of Jesus, to share the gospel and to love people who are not like them. Organizers talk about young people learning to 'live missionally' and to see opportunities to build God's kingdom in their ordinary lives. Short-term missions, however, also appeal to young people's desire to see the world and to be adventurous. The language used to describe and promote trips is remarkably similar to secular overseas volunteering or 'voluntourism,' as well as gap-year programs before college. Both experiences are built around the idea of getting out of your comfort zone and experiencing cultural differences in the name of self-improvement, preparing for life in a globalized, diverse world. Another similarity is that both Christian and secular programs usually involve some kind of service project: building a house, digging a well or leading recreational activities for children. Such activities are meant to give young people confidence in their ability to 'make a difference' in the world, while developing resilience and gratitude. Not all evangelicals see the value of mission trips. Critics have argued that American short-term mission teams dump unwanted goods on host communities, are culturally insensitive and commonly assume that locals need American 'expertise.' 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Yet their messages tends to imply the effects of poverty can be overcome through personal faith in Christ. Short-term missionaries I interviewed did not blame people for being poor but were reluctant to describe the hardship they witnessed in terms of social injustice. The mission teams I studied learned almost nothing about the impacts of corruption, violence and social inequality on the communities they believed they were there to help. Trip leaders felt that such information would bore participants and detract from the spiritual aims of the trip. In effect, what mattered to the volunteers and organizers was simply that places were poor and foreign rather than the reasons poverty was so entrenched. Many of the short-term missionaries I interviewed described feeling changed by their trip and becoming more aware of their own privilege. But the focus on spiritual fulfillment means that these young people may be missing out on opportunities to deepen their understandings of the world and to build solidarity with the communities they visit. This article is republished from The Conversation, a nonprofit, independent news organization bringing you facts and trustworthy analysis to help you make sense of our complex world. It was written by: Caroline R. Nagel, University of South Carolina Read more: When a child chooses a donor to sponsor them, it's a new twist on a surprisingly old model of international charity How Christian missionary media shaped the world Whether or not a man convicted of abusing African 'orphans' is exonerated, the missionary system that brought him to Kenya was always deeply flawed Caroline R. 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6 hours ago
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Which country has the most visitors impacted by Trump's travel restrictions?
Which country has the most visitors impacted by Trump's travel restrictions? South Florida, home to large Venezuelan, Haitian and Cuban communities, will be hit hard by Trump's travel ban Show Caption Hide Caption President Trump bans travel from several countries around the world President Donald Trump signed a proclamation that bans travel from 12 countries and restricts seven others. Reaction to President Donald Trump's new travel bans was swift in South Florida, home to what are believed to be the largest Venezuelan, Haitian and Cuban communities in the United States. "I am deeply concerned by this decision which further divides us as Americans and harms hardworking families contributing to the essential fabric of our community," Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava said in a June 5 social media post. "The work of our federal government should be to protect our borders and pass comprehensive immigration reform, not tear down our communities." Trump's proclamation, signed on June 4, takes effect June 9. The administration cited security reasons for the bans on travelers from a dozen countries and restrictions on those from seven others. It prohibits entry into the U.S. of foreign nationals from Afghanistan, Burma, Chad, the Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen. Travel restrictions, including suspensions, will be placed on those from Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan, and Venezuela. Of the nearly 1.7 million visas issued to people from those countries between 2014 and 2023, almost half were from Venezuela. They reunited with family, shopped and visited Disney World and other theme parks and attractions, according to recent media and social media accounts. Venezuelans and Haitians speak out against the travel ban The proclamation suspends entry into the United States for Venezuelan nationals with temporary work, study and tourist visas. 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Trump's proclamation stated he had directed the Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, and others to identify countries where the vetting and screening information is "so deficient as to warrant a full or partial suspension" of nationals of those countries into the U.S. and the group had found a number of countries deficient. Rubio, a South Florida native whose parents migrated from Cuba in 1956, shared on X a post from the White House, attributed to Trump: "We cannot have open migration from any country where we cannot safely and reliably vet and screen … That is why today I am signing a new executive order placing travel restrictions on countries including Yemen, Somalia, Haiti, Libya, and numerous others." USA TODAY looked at how many visas were distributed to foreign nationals from the countries in question over the past decade. A nonimmigrant visa is a temporary document, issued for tourism, temporary work, medical care, study or business. How many visitor's visas were issued? Combined, foreign nationals in the countries now facing travel bans accounted for fewer than 63,000 non-immigrant visas in 2023, the most recent year for which statistics are available. At least two dozen other countries not included in the ban each accounted for more visitor visas that year. While Venezuela leads all the 19 recently restricted countries in visitors to the U.S., Iranians received 17,634 non-immigrant visas in 2023, more than any of the dozen countries facing total travel bans. Myanmar, which U.S. documents recognize as Burma, received the next-most with 13,284. Here are the number of non-immigrant visas granted to nationalities of the other countries facing bans: Sudan, 4,506 Yemen, 4,204 Afghanistan, 2,665 Libya, 2,259 Congo Republic, 2,175 Chad, 2,090 Equatorial Guinea, 1,534 Eritrea, 931 Somalia, 463 Looking at the decade overall, Haitians topped the list, receiving the most non-immigrant visas among the banned countries at 243,369. Iran was second with 162,356 and Burma/Myanmar was third with 115,520. Among the countries facing travel restrictions rather than bans, foreign nationals from five of those – Sierra Leone, Togo, Laos, Turkmenistan and Burundi – received fewer than 8,500 non immigrant visas combined in 2023. Which country's residents received the most non-immigrant visas? Mexico led the world at 2.3 million non-immigrant visas in 2023. The figure also includes border crossing cards, laminated cards that allow Mexicans to cross the border between the nations for periods of less than 30 days. More than 1.3 million people planning to visit the U.S. from India received non-immigrant visas in 2023 and 1.06 million from Brazil. Other countries whose nationalities received the most visiting visas in 2023 include: Colombia, 476,293 China, 417,008 Argentina, 291,892 Ecuador, 274,799 Philippines, 285,860 Israel, 190,415 Vietnam, 133,781 Dominican Republic, 130,360 Turkey, 130,168 Nigeria, 113,695 Peru, 111,851 Dinah Voyles Pulver, a national correspondent for USA TODAY, writes about climate change, violent weather and other news. Reach her at dpulver@ or @dinahvp on Bluesky or X or dinahvp.77 on Signal.
