Americans are expected to splurge on travel this summer — again
CNN
Millions of Americans have taken to the skies, hit the road, fired up the barbecue grill and jumped into the pool this weekend to celebrate the start of summer 2024. Analysts are expecting the Memorial Day weekend to usher in yet another summer of strong consumer spending on travel and other leisure activities.
A version of this story first appeared in CNN Business’ Before the Bell newsletter. Not a subscriber? You can sign up right here. You can listen to an audio version of the newsletter by clicking the same link. Millions of Americans have taken to the skies, hit the road, fired up the barbecue grill and jumped into the pool this weekend to celebrate the start of summer 2024. Analysts are expecting the Memorial Day weekend to usher in yet another summer of strong consumer spending on travel and other leisure activities. The season is already off to a solid start: The Transportation Security Administration said that Thursday was its second-busiest day at airports in history, adding that five of its 10 busiest days ever were this month. AAA projected earlier this month that 43.8 million Americans are driving at least 50 miles this weekend, up 4% from last year’s total and close to the all-time record of 44 million during the 2005 Memorial Day weekend. “We haven’t seen Memorial Day weekend travel numbers like these in almost 20 years,” Paula Twidale, senior vice president at AAA Travel, said in a release. Royal Caribbean’s first-quarter earnings results topped expectations, thanks to strong bookings and robust onboard spending. Company executives said in a earnings call that they’re optimistic for the remainder of the year. If this momentum persists throughout the summer, that would mean solid revenue for leisure businesses such as Royal Caribbean, hotels, restaurants and theme parks, also providing an economic boost to cities with a big tourism scene.
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