While travel spending is on the rise, the number of people making leisure trips is not, PhoCusWright reported.
Results suggest that tourism dollars are being spent among a narrowing group of wealthier people.
According to a survey of more than 2,000 people, 62% took a leisure trip within the past year, about the same as a year earlier. That figure is down from about 70% prior to the recession.
The number of regular leisure travelers is being constrained by challenges faced by people between ages 45 and 54 (“early boomers”), which account for a large chunk of the U.S. travel market.
About 60% of that contingent took a trip within the past year, down from 63% a year earlier, PhoCusWright said. And for early boomers who did take a trip, average spending fell by more than 10%.
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