Are staycations going kaput?

With the improving economy and decreased unemployment, we are seeing a definite increase in the number of Americans taking a vacation. Back in 2014 and 2015, more than 40% of Americas took no vacation, not a single day. Last year that decreased to only one third (34%), still not great, but a definite improvement. We saw increases in people taking vacations for less then three weeks a year. Long days of vacation saw a decrease.

The percentage of adults with no vacation days is pretty consistent across all age groups. Adults age 45+ have the highest percentage of the greater number of vacation days

A survey by AAA indicates we may see a future increase in 2017. They found that 42% of Americans plan to take a vacation this year.

This is definitely good news for tourist and trip-based entertainment venues. The question is whether people are now shifting entertainment spending to trips and away from venues in their communities, or whether there is an increase in overall out-of-home entertainment spending. We won't be able to answer that until we have a chance to analyze the 2016 Consumer Expenditure Survey data that is released in September. Stand by until then.