New Report Shows Where to Find Summer Travel Savings

Adobe Digital Insights (ADI) released new travel findings based on wide-ranging data that includes more than 16 billion visits to major travel, airline, hotel, car rental and cruise sites.

The findings show a mixed bag when it comes to summer travel. 

It looks like growth is stalling. This year, summer travel is predicted to grow 5.1 percent, which is 66 percent lower than last year’s growth. This is mainly due to higher prices in the hotel and airline industries. 

According to ADI, growth has also slowed for airlines (3.5 percent in the first quarter of 2017 versus 11.2 percent last year) and hotels (7.8 percent during the first quarter versus 18.5 percent last year). 

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While high prices may keep travelers at home during the most of the summer, this is not predicted to be the case over the Fourth of July. The holiday is set to bring in $3.6 billion over the four-day weekend, according to the study. 

ADI found that while prices may be increasing, savvy travelers will still be able to find deals. One of the keys is advance planning, especially when it comes to airfare. Survey results showed that consumers looking for savings should book domestic flights at least 76 days in advance, with international flights 125 days in advance.

Other surveys have found similar results: A FareCompare survey shows that, if travelers are looking to save money, they should book summer travel domestically before May 21. 

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Domestic travelers will be in luck when it comes to competition for rooms and airfares. ADI predicts that fewer travelers will come from international destinations to the U.S. this summer. A well-performing U.S. dollar certainly makes travel in the states less of a bargain this summer, but a confusing array of new travel restrictions also may play a role. 

The survey also found that fewer people will be renting cars this summer. Online rentals have decreased 14 percent year over year. This is pinned to fewer international visitors, more one-stop and cruise vacations, and possibly more frequent use of ride-sharing services such as Lyft and Uber. 

A bright spot in these survey results was cruising. ADI found that visits to cruise websites have nearly doubled over the last three years and, in 2017, visits had surged 32 percent year over year.