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Emotional well-being is a powerful driver of distinct consumer behaviors – including switching intent, brand loyalty, and plans to cut back – and travel intent is another strong example of this correlation. The CivicScience Well-Being Index, which measures daily self-reported emotions from U.S. adults 18+, shows a pronounced relationship between well-being and reported travel plans.
For instance, CivicScience trend data since 2019 reveal that year-over-year increases in well-being are predictive of increases in travel intent one month later, specifically. In other words, when consumers report higher well-being compared to the same time last year, they’re more likely to say they plan to travel the following month.
Among the emotions driving the index, ‘excitement’ stands out as a leading indicator of travel plans – when excitement rises, travel momentum tends to follow a month later.
There’s also a subset of consumers who report elevated negative emotions, such as stress or worry, but still show a higher-than-average likelihood of traveling. This suggests that advertisers should consider messaging for this group that focuses on travel as a form of self-care.
The bottom line: Travel marketers and advertisers should closely monitor consumer-reported well-being, as it’s a strong driver of travel intent. This is especially important as additional data points show that consumers are five points less likely to cut back on travel spending compared to this time last year.
Answer our Poll: Have you ever taken a vacation at a health or wellness resort?
Real-Time Insights Driving Purchasing Decisions
CivicScience can help you identify and engage with the audiences most likely to convert before finalizing travel plans. Here is a glimpse of the insights available through CivicScience’s millions of daily consumer responses, comparing those who plan to travel in 2025 with those who don’t:
Sports and Fitness Focused: They’re 2X as likely to exercise at a gym weekly and more likely to say health and fitness are important to them. About one-third of upcoming travelers say they attend sporting events at least once a month, are over 5X as likely to follow the WNBA and NCAA Women’s Basketball ‘very closely,’ and over 4X as likely to follow high school sports in their area.
Financial Savviness: Upcoming travelers have a strong pulse on financial markets and the economy. They’re roughly 5X more likely to be long-term (12+ months) Bitcoin investors and nearly 4X more likely to be longstanding Ethereum investors. They’re also over 2X as likely to use and like ChatGPT, and report less concern about the proliferation of AI.
Switching Intent and Outlook: They also show greater switching intent than non-travelers. For instance, upcoming travelers report a greater likelihood of switching banks, changing cable/satellite providers, and obtaining new health insurance. These consumers are also optimistic about the future of the economy – over 2.5X more likely to say now is a ‘good’ time to make a major purchase, aligning with additional data showing that they’re more likely to say they plan to buy/lease a new car in the near future.
Holiday Shopping: Upcoming travelers are more excited than usual this holiday season and are more likely to have started gift-buying but less likely to say they’re done. These consumers are over 2X as likely to say they’re spending more on gifts than last year, coinciding with them being 4.5X more likely to take on debt to buy holiday gifts.
Weigh In: Train travel: boring or brilliant?
Reach The Right Audiences
Travel intent has become an emotional barometer of how Americans are feeling. As well-being continues to shape spending decisions and lifestyle choices, brands that monitor emotional well-being – especially feelings of excitement – will be better positioned to anticipate travel demand and connect authentically during their decision-making process. With CivicScience’s consumer-reported intent data, brands can find and engage the right consumers at the right time, on the right channels.
