Wealthy Americans take 3 vacations a year, fly economy

Affluent Americans eschew busy summer months and tend to travel in the spring or fall; treat themselves to an average of three vacations a year; and shell out an average of nearly $3,000 per trip.

That’s according to the results of a BMO Private Bank Study that examined travel trends among wealthy Americans, defined as those with more than $1 million in investable assets.

For the report, researchers surveyed about 500 Americans in online interviews.

The findings paint a portrait of how wealthy Americans like to spend their money and vacation time and reveal a few surprising results.

For example, despite their financial freedom, the majority (89 percent) of respondents said they choose to spend their holidays on staycations within the US.

After the US, high-net worth Americans favor Europe, Canada, Asia, Mexico, Central and South America and Australia for vacation (in that order).

Likewise, the majority (77 percent) said they choose to fly economy compared to the other 23 percent who splurge to fly business or first class.

The report also provides a regional breakdown of which states spend the most money while on holiday, and take the number of vacations.

Turns out Florida, with its large pensioner, retiree population, is the most spendthrift state, dishing out an average of $20,100 a year while on vacation.

Floridians take on average four breaks throughout the year.

After Florida comes Washington State and Illinois.

Residents in Wisconsin and Minnesota take the most number of vacations, averaging six trips a year.

Overall, the average amount spent on each trip is $2,900.

The report also shows that rich Americans choose to stay, at minimum, in a four-star hotel. A quarter of respondents said they’re also fond of no-brainer, all-inclusive resorts where everything is planned out for them, and another 25 percent said they prefer five-star hotels.
Source: Relaxnews