More trips, bigger budgets, diverse experiences: Inside affluent travel

Affluent Americans stand out not just for how often they travel, but for how much they spend when they do. More than half (52%) say they take leisure trips twice or more each year, compared with 34% of Americans overall. They are also more than twice as likely to have spent over $2,000 on their last trip (34% vs 14%).

That combination of frequency and spend makes them an ideal segment to explore in more detail – YouGov Profiles, which continuously collects data on hundreds of variables in the U.S., allows us to do just that.

What affluent travelers want: Key travel preferences include multi-country trips and city breaks

Given their higher travel frequency and spending power, affluent travelers tend to over-index across most trip types compared to the general population. To uncover more meaningful insights relating to this group, we have honed in on significant difference compared to all U.S. travelers.

Multi-country trips stand out as a defining behavior, with 34% of affluent travelers opting for itineraries that span multiple destinations compared with 21% of all U.S. travelers. City breaks are also significantly more popular (49% vs 37%), as are culture and history trips (49% vs 37%). Sightseeing remains a core pillar of affluent travel, attracting 59% compared with 48% among travelers in general.

More traditional leisure formats still perform strongly. Beach vacations are the most popular choice overall for affluent travelers (65%), with a 10 percentage-point difference compared to all U.S. travelers (55%). Scenic trips to lakes, mountains, and the countryside are also highly popular, with more than half of affluent travelers saying they enjoy these (53% vs 45%). Additionally, affluent travelers are more inclined toward activity-led trips (31% vs 24%), event-driven travel (29% vs 23%), and cruises (27% vs 21%).

Top destinations for affluent travelers: Italy and Hawaii make the strongest impression

When it comes to destinations, popular international destinations in the Western hemisphere tend to make the strongest impression on affluent travelers. Italy leads the ranking with a score of 60, followed by Hawaii at 56 and Canada at 53. Scotland and Iceland also rank in the top five out of 32 international and domestic destinations tracked by YouGov DestinationIndex.

Looking at relative preference, several destinations stand out for over-indexing among affluent travelers. Iceland and Italy both show particularly strong positive differences compared with all U.S. travelers, alongside Barcelona, Spain, and the United Kingdom.

The destinations that resonate less among affluent travelers

At the other end of the spectrum, some destinations underperform among affluent travelers relative to all travelers. Markets such as Saudi Arabia and Qatar show the weakest relative Impression, alongside Abu Dhabi.

More well-established domestic leisure destinations like Florida and Las Vegas also under-index among affluent travelers.

Why the affluent traveler audience matters

Affluent travelers represent a powerful combination of frequency, spend, and intent. They are more likely to travel often, more willing to spend significantly, and more interested in varied, experience-led trips.

While half of all travelers say they try to maintain a strict budget when on travel (50%), this share drops to 33% among affluent travelers. They are also less inclined to view their holidays as a means of pure relaxation – just 36% agree they “only want to eat, drink and lie in the sun” when on a vacation compared to 40% of all travelers. This suggests they are more open to adding activities, excursions, and premium experiences into their trips, with cost being less of a barrier.

Methodology: YouGov Profiles is based on continuously collected data through rolling surveys, rather than a single limited questionnaire. The figures used in this analysis are drawn from responses collected between March 2025 and March 2026. Data is nationally representative of adults (18+) in the U.S. and weighted by age, gender, education, region, and race.

YouGov DestinationIndex tracks public perceptions of international travel destinations on a daily basis. Impression scores measure whether respondents have an overall positive or negative view of a destination. Figures referenced compare Impression scores among affluent travelers and travelers in general. Scores are net figures and can range from -100 to +100.