by Lacey Pfalz
Last updated: 9:20 AM ET, Thu October 29, 2026
New signs show that as budget travelers feel the pinch in their wallets and scale back on trips this year, luxury travelers are revving up for more spending and more trips, without being hampered by higher travel prices.
New data from travel insurance marketplace Squaremouth found that while insured trips costing $10,000 or below dropped 2.3% during the third quarter, luxury trips costing at least $30,000 surged 27.2% from the same period last year.
Overall insured trips grew 12.9% for the same period, showing that while the number of trips people take may not be increasing this year, more people are making travel insurance a priority.
Squaremouth’s travel spending report from earlier this year found that 23% of travelers also planned to spend more on premium or bucket-list trips this year—a trend that we've been reporting on all year. With more insured trips over the $30,000 threshold, it seems travelers are putting their money where their mouth is.
The third quarter is the peak booking window for luxury safaris, according to Squaremouth, and insurance bookings for Rwanda, South Africa, and Kenya all increased. Rwanda saw a 33.3% increase in insurance bookings, South Africa was up 23.4%, and Kenya increased 17.6% from last year. Average trip costs for these luxury safari vacations range from $24,000 to $37,000+.
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