What 2025 Travel USA® Data Reveals About Budget and Luxury Travelers

Do you know the real difference between a budget traveler and a luxury traveler? It may not be what you think. Our latest Travel USA® insights reveal that while 24% of all U.S. overnight trips were taken by budget-friendly travelers and 10% by luxury travelers, the dividing line between these two segments goes well beyond how much they spend per night. From who is in their travel party and how they plan their trips, to where they stay, how they get there, and which media channels they use to decide where to go, the differences are striking, statistically meaningful, and directly actionable for destinations and their partners.

Here is a preview of what the data shows: luxury travel parties skew younger (42% include someone aged 18–34), are more likely to include children (34% vs. 24%) and pets (18% vs. 13%), and are far more plugged into social media during trip planning (43% vs. 26%), with Instagram leading the way at 23% vs. just 9% for budget travelers. Meanwhile, budget travelers are more likely to be 55 or older (50% vs. 30%), lean heavily on visiting friends and relatives as their primary trip purpose (47% vs. 31%), and are nearly twice as likely to stay in the home of friends or relatives rather than a hotel. And yet, both groups are chasing many of the same core experiences, and nearly seven in ten in each segment say they are very likely to return to their destination.

Whether you are refining your targeting strategy, building segment-specific campaigns, or simply trying to understand who is already visiting your destination and why, this is data you need. Click below to read the full blog post and download the complete 2025 budget vs. luxury traveler snapshot, including a side-by-side data table covering income, age, accommodations, trip purpose, planning behavior, and more.

Download White-Glove Stays vs. Wallet-Wise Getaways (PDF)