Christmas is right around the corner, and with it, holiday plans are taking shape. Just last month, CivicScience took a look at travel plans for U.S. adults over the Thanksgiving holiday. In that report, it became clear that the majority of Americans would be staying close to home. Would Christmas plans be any different? CivicScience gathered responses from over 5,000 respondents to see.
As it turns out, once again, staying close to home is the most popular choice, with 73% of U.S. adults indicating that their plans really are to stay home for the holidays. The only truly notable form of transportation adults plan on using for travel is the car, with 9% planning on driving several hours or more.
The cost of travel can be expensive and income could certainly play a role. This is most clearly evidenced by the fact that 37% of those staying home are low-income earners, while 39% of those traveling earn more than $100,000 each year.
We see below that overall holiday spending correlates with travel as well. Those with Christmas travel plans this year are going bigger in their spending, while those staying close to home are the most likely to spend less this year. It could be by design.
This suggests that Christmas travel in 2018 may be very clearly impacted by income and one’s financial ability to justify the cost.
Making the Most of PTO
Another factor that often directly impacts holiday time is an individual’s occupation. As the data shows, those in more traditional corporate positions–managers or those in tech and sales roles–are the most likely to be traveling.
On the other hand, respondents with jobs that may require them to work in and around the holidays, specifically in service or manual labor roles, tend to stay closer to home. This is reflected in intention for vacation day usage as well. Those traveling for Christmas are more likely to plan on using up all of their vacation days.
A Family Affair
The ability–or requirement– to travel for the holidays may also directly correlate with life stage, as those who are neither parents nor grandparents are the most likely to be heading out, perhaps to the homes of those who do fit the parental demographic.
More than just life stage, the act of traveling may have some relationship to a deeper need to simply get out of the house, as suggested by the data below. 34% of those who plan to travel have had an increase in their desire to get out in the past six months.
When it comes to the Christmas holiday, there are a variety of factors that play a role in determining if or how an individual may choose to travel. From finances to professional or familial responsibilities, each factor may carry a slightly different weight. However, at the end of the day, travel takes a backseat to staying close to home, a trend that shows no sign of slowing as we head into the winter.